Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Buys New Stake in Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 13,589 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $797,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in TECH. CX Institutional purchased a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Bio-Techne in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new position in Bio-Techne during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in Bio-Techne by 30,250.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 1,214 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 1,210 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its position in Bio-Techne by 42.6% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,078 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Stock Up 1.8%

TECH stock traded up $0.91 on Thursday, hitting $52.80. 2,348,817 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,449,547. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $49.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.85. Bio-Techne Corp has a 12-month low of $46.01 and a 12-month high of $83.62. The stock has a market cap of $8.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.58 and a current ratio of 3.71.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $317.92 million. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 10.89%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.48 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TECH has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group reduced 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 note on Friday, May 9th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Bio-Techne in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Bio-Techne in a report on Friday, May 30th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $59.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $72.00.

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.