Stephens Investment Management Group LLC Purchases 83,126 Shares of Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH)

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its position in Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 11.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 817,801 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 83,126 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC owned 0.52% of Bio-Techne worth $47,948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 19,630 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,153,000 after buying an additional 2,980 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,940,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 3,534.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 105,241 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $6,170,000 after buying an additional 102,345 shares during the period. CX Institutional acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 18,524 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,086,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TECH traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $54.14. The company had a trading volume of 1,420,801 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,471,906. The company has a current ratio of 3.71, a quick ratio of 2.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $8.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.03, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.39. The company's 50-day moving average price is $50.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.93. Bio-Techne Corp has a one year low of $46.01 and a one year high of $83.62.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.05. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 10.89% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The business had revenue of $316.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $317.92 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.48 EPS. Bio-Techne's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on TECH shares. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $90.00 to $75.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Friday, May 30th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $59.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.00.

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.