Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Shares Bought by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

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

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $20,934,000 after purchasing an additional 1,843 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its stake in Bio-Techne by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 34,451 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,482,000 after acquiring an additional 2,350 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 58.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 43,298 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,119,000 after acquiring an additional 16,038 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake 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 valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.95% of the company's stock.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TECH traded up $0.91 during trading on Friday, reaching $49.15. 1,615,986 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,278,089. Bio-Techne Co. has a 12-month low of $46.01 and a 12-month high of $84.61. 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 $7.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.65, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.46. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $53.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.72.

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

Bio-Techne announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 7th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the biotechnology company to repurchase up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Bio-Techne from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on 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. Baird R W lowered Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Bio-Techne from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on Bio-Techne in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $73.44.

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.