Brown Advisory Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 11.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,312,395 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 132,806 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. owned 0.83% of Bio-Techne worth $94,532,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in TECH. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the fourth quarter valued at $3,390,000. Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Bio-Techne during the 4th quarter valued at about $821,000. BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the fourth quarter valued at about $15,468,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 61.8% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 281,747 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $20,294,000 after buying an additional 107,667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Bio-Techne by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,702,942 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $338,756,000 after acquiring an additional 317,349 shares in the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $130,336.96. This represents a 48.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on TECH. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. 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 note on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Baird R W cut shares of Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $81.14.

Bio-Techne Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ TECH traded up $1.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $48.75. The stock had a trading volume of 3,467,963 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,228,673. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $55.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.52. Bio-Techne Co. has a 1 year low of $46.01 and a 1 year high of $85.57. The firm has a market cap of $7.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a current ratio of 3.94.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 13.22%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. Bio-Techne's payout ratio is 32.32%.

Bio-Techne declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the biotechnology company to buy up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are 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.