BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Acquires 39,638 Shares of Bio-Techne Corp $TECH

Key Points

• BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its stake in Bio-Techne Corp by 14.4% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 0.20% of the company's stock, valued at $18.4 million.
• A quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share has been announced, with an annualized yield of 0.6%, while a share buyback plan worth $500 million has been initiated.
• Analyst ratings for Bio-Techne show varied perspectives, with one "Strong Buy," six "Buy," and six "Hold" ratings, alongside price targets ranging from $59.00 to $70.00.

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its holdings in Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 14.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 314,459 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 39,638 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S owned approximately 0.20% of Bio-Techne worth $18,437,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CX Institutional bought a new position in Bio-Techne in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. GeoWealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 1,239.1% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 924 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on TECH shares. TD Cowen started coverage on Bio-Techne in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Bio-Techne from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Bio-Techne in a report on Friday, May 30th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $59.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup raised Bio-Techne from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.42.

Bio-Techne Trading Up 5.7%

NASDAQ:TECH traded up $3.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $57.09. 1,442,419 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,281,608. The firm's fifty day moving average is $53.10 and its 200-day moving average is $54.65. Bio-Techne Corp has a 12-month low of $46.01 and a 12-month high of $80.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 124.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.03. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 13.43% and a net margin of 6.02%.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 firm posted $0.49 EPS. Bio-Techne's quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

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

Bio-Techne declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 7th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the biotechnology company to buy up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.