Ashford Capital Management Inc. Trims Stake in Bio-Techne Corp $TECH

Key Points

• Ashford Capital Management cut its Bio-Techne stake by 57.8% in the first quarter, selling 21,897 shares and retaining 16,008 shares valued at approximately $837,000.
• Institutional ownership remains very high at 98.95%, with several major investors—including Wellington Management, Massachusetts Financial Services and First Trust Advisors—substantially increasing their positions.
• Bio-Techne recently missed quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, while analysts maintain a predominantly “Hold” view; the stock’s average price target is $68.08 versus a recent price of $71.62.

Ashford Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 57.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,008 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 21,897 shares during the quarter. Ashford Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $837,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in TECH. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Bio-Techne by 349.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,115,133 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $284,555,000 after acquiring an additional 3,978,026 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Bio-Techne by 164.4% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,012,818 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $235,994,000 after purchasing an additional 2,495,328 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Bio-Techne during the 4th quarter valued at about $99,494,000. Durable Capital Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter valued at about $77,658,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 2,874.9% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,281,792 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $66,986,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238,705 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.95% of the company's stock.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

TECH stock opened at $71.62 on Tuesday. Bio-Techne Corp has a one year low of $43.19 and a one year high of $72.16. The firm has a market cap of $11.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 103.80, a PEG ratio of 8.53 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 3.18 and a current ratio of 4.49. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.84.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $311.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $316.11 million. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 9.05%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Bio-Techne's payout ratio is currently 46.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on TECH shares. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $76.00 to $62.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Bio-Techne from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Bio-Techne in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded Bio-Techne from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $62.00 to $73.00 in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $68.08.

Bio-Techne Profile

Bio-Techne Corporation NASDAQ: TECH is a global life sciences company that develops, manufactures and sells high-quality reagents, instruments and services for the research, diagnostic and bioprocessing markets. Its core product offerings include recombinant proteins, antibodies, immunoassays, nucleic acid probes and kits, single-cell analysis solutions and automated protein analysis systems. Flagship brands such as R&D Systems, Novus Biologicals, ProteinSimple and Advanced Cell Diagnostics provide researchers and clinicians with reliable tools for cell biology, immunology, proteomics and genomics applications.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Bio-Techne serves customers across North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region through a combination of direct sales, distributors and strategic partnerships.

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