Fred Alger Management LLC Sells 79,247 Shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Fred Alger Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 12.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 572,152 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 79,247 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC owned 0.36% of Bio-Techne worth $41,212,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 46.6% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 16,650 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,215,000 after buying an additional 5,295 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised 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 purchasing an additional 16,038 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its holdings in Bio-Techne by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 254,034 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $18,298,000 after purchasing an additional 25,650 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,940,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 736,340 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $52,641,000 after purchasing an additional 79,629 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.95% of the company's stock.

Bio-Techne Trading Up 0.4 %

TECH stock traded up $0.20 during trading on Friday, hitting $49.98. The company had a trading volume of 3,168,915 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,252,429. Bio-Techne Co. has a one year low of $46.01 and a one year 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. The business has a 50-day moving average of $54.68 and a 200-day moving average of $66.21. The stock has a market cap of $7.90 billion, a PE ratio of 50.48, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.46.

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

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

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bio-Techne

In other Bio-Techne news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $130,336.96. This trade represents 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 this link. Insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on TECH. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Bio-Techne from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Baird R W lowered Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $73.44.

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.