Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH) Shares Purchased by Weitz Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Weitz Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Bio-Techne Corp by 107.6%, owning 791,650 shares worth approximately $46.4 million, making it the fund's 16th largest holding.
• Shares of Bio-Techne opened at $54.89, with a market cap of $8.61 billion, and the stock has seen a price target range of $59.00 to $72.00 from various analysts.
• Bio-Techne recently announced a $500 million stock buyback program, signaling confidence in its stock value perceived as undervalued by its Board of Directors.

Weitz Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 107.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 791,650 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 410,400 shares during the period. Bio-Techne accounts for approximately 2.5% of Weitz Investment Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Weitz Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.50% of Bio-Techne worth $46,414,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 81,801 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $6,037,000 after buying an additional 7,777 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in Bio-Techne during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,940,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Bio-Techne by 39.6% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 5,932 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 1,683 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,665 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 953 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,001,296 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $287,488,000 after purchasing an additional 98,660 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TECH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 8th. Stephens raised shares of Bio-Techne to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Friday, May 30th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $59.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $72.00 to $63.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Bio-Techne from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.58.

Bio-Techne Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ TECH opened at $54.89 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.58 and a current ratio of 3.71. Bio-Techne Corp has a 1 year low of $46.01 and a 1 year high of $81.30. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $51.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.81. The firm has a market cap of $8.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.94, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.40.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 10.89%. The firm had revenue of $316.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $317.92 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.48 EPS. Bio-Techne's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio is 39.02%.

Bio-Techne declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the biotechnology company to purchase up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are 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.

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