Bayesian Capital Management LP Buys Shares of 11,400 Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 11,400 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $821,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 530 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Bio-Techne in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. GeoWealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Bio-Techne in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 60.4% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 672 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 35.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 763 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on TECH shares. Benchmark dropped their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $95.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird lowered Bio-Techne from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Bio-Techne from $72.00 to $63.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Bio-Techne from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $73.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total value of $122,685.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at $130,336.96. This trade represents a 48.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Bio-Techne Stock Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ TECH traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $49.98. 3,168,915 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,253,274. The company has a 50 day moving average of $54.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.90 billion, a PE ratio of 50.48, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.46. Bio-Techne Co. has a 12 month low of $46.01 and a 12 month high of $85.57. The company has a current ratio of 3.94, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $316.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $317.92 million. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 13.22%. Bio-Techne's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. Bio-Techne's payout ratio is 32.32%.

Bio-Techne declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 7th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the biotechnology company to buy up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

About Bio-Techne

Bio-Techne Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and sells life science reagents, instruments, and services for the research and clinical diagnostic markets in the United States, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, Middle East, and Africa, Greater China, rest of Asia-Pacific, and internationally.