Deutsche Bank AG Raises Position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 23.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,034,608 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 196,966 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned about 0.65% of Bio-Techne worth $74,523,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings 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 worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 4th quarter worth $43,000. 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 acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 42.6% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,078 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on TECH shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on Bio-Techne from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. StockNews.com raised Bio-Techne from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price objective on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $73.44.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

TECH traded up $0.91 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $49.15. 1,615,986 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,278,089. Bio-Techne Co. has a 1-year low of $46.01 and a 1-year high of $84.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.77 billion, a PE ratio of 49.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 3.94 and a quick ratio of 2.77. The business's 50-day moving average price is $53.65 and its 200 day moving average price 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $316.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $317.92 million. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 13.22%. Bio-Techne's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.48 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors 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 yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.02%.

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