Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH) Shares Sold by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 75.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,748 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 61,323 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $1,157,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TECH. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Bio-Techne during the 4th quarter worth $230,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Bio-Techne by 8,079.6% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 242,525 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $17,469,000 after buying an additional 239,560 shares during the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. grew its stake in Bio-Techne by 72.3% during the 4th quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 13,276 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $956,000 after buying an additional 5,570 shares during the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Bio-Techne by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 42,753 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,079,000 after buying an additional 1,080 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the fourth quarter worth $1,646,000. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on TECH. Evercore ISI began coverage on Bio-Techne in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen cut Bio-Techne from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Bio-Techne from $72.00 to $63.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Bio-Techne from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $72.00.

Bio-Techne Stock Down 1.8%

NASDAQ:TECH opened at $51.84 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.22, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.38. Bio-Techne Corp has a 1-year low of $46.01 and a 1-year high of $83.62. 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 business's fifty day moving average price is $49.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.27.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $316.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $317.92 million. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 10.89%. Bio-Techne's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.48 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. Bio-Techne's payout ratio is 39.02%.

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

About Bio-Techne

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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