Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Grows Stock Holdings in Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 20.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 52,339 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,041 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $3,069,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Bio-Techne during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Bio-Techne during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. raised its position in Bio-Techne by 1,355.6% during the fourth quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,048 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 976 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank raised its position in 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. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its position in Bio-Techne by 30,250.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 1,214 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 1,210 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

TECH traded up $0.63 during trading on Thursday, hitting $50.13. The stock had a trading volume of 2,164,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,423,626. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.58 and a current ratio of 3.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.13, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.38. The company's 50-day moving average price is $49.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.52. Bio-Techne Corp has a twelve month low of $46.01 and a twelve month high of $83.62.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 10.89% and a return on equity of 13.17%. Bio-Techne's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.48 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.02%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Bio-Techne from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bio-Techne currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.