Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Acquires 4,536 Shares of Bio-Techne Corp $TECH

Key Points

• Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. increased its stake in Bio-Techne Corp by 52.0%, acquiring an additional 4,536 shares, bringing its total holdings to 13,266 shares valued at approximately $774,000.
• Bio-Techne recently reported earnings of $0.53 per share for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and showcasing a 3.6% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share, scheduled for payment on August 29th, with a 0.6% yield and a dividend payout ratio of 69.57%.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 52.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,266 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,536 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $774,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in TECH. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the 1st quarter worth about $39,658,000. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 45.7% during the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,912,377 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $112,123,000 after purchasing an additional 599,982 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 2,335,359 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $168,216,000 after purchasing an additional 495,404 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 18.5% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,025,409 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $177,380,000 after purchasing an additional 472,847 shares during the period. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,047,000. 98.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Trading Up 5.7%

TECH opened at $57.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 3.46 and a quick ratio of 2.38. Bio-Techne Corp has a fifty-two week low of $46.01 and a fifty-two week high of $80.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.95 billion, a PE ratio of 124.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 1.40. The company's 50-day moving average is $53.10 and its 200 day moving average is $54.65.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.03. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 13.43%. The company had revenue of $316.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.14 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.57%.

Bio-Techne announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 7th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the biotechnology company to reacquire up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Stephens upgraded shares of Bio-Techne to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Bio-Techne from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 8th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.42.

Bio-Techne Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.