Analysts Set Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) PT at $81.14

Shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Hold" from the eight research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $81.14.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on TECH. Evercore ISI started coverage on Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird cut shares of Bio-Techne from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $88.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of TECH traded up $0.86 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $50.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,525,113 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,213,898. The company has a current ratio of 3.94, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $7.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.00, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.46. Bio-Techne has a 1-year low of $46.01 and a 1-year high of $85.57. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.14.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.03). Bio-Techne had a net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 12.73%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne's payout ratio is 32.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of Bio-Techne stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total transaction of $122,685.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,336.96. The trade was a 48.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TECH. CX Institutional acquired a new stake in Bio-Techne during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 46.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 530 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new position in Bio-Techne during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 60.4% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 672 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bio-Techne Company Profile

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.