Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Has $3.76 Million Stake in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 284.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,244 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 38,661 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $3,763,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 0.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 261,900 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $20,934,000 after buying an additional 1,843 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 34,451 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,482,000 after buying an additional 2,350 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 58.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 43,298 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,119,000 after buying an additional 16,038 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 46.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 530 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TECH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. 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, May 8th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $72.00 to $63.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bio-Techne presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $73.44.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TECH traded up $0.91 during trading on Friday, hitting $49.15. 1,615,986 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,277,231. The business's 50 day moving average is $53.46 and its 200-day moving average is $65.45. The company has a market capitalization of $7.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Bio-Techne Co. has a 1-year low of $46.01 and a 1-year high of $84.22.

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

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.02%.

Bio-Techne declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the biotechnology company to purchase up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Bio-Techne 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.