Neuberger Berman Group LLC Lowers Position in Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH)

Key Points

• Neuberger Berman Group LLC reduced its stake in Bio-Techne Corp by 15.5%, currently holding about 3 million shares valued at $177 million.
• Bio-Techne announced a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share with a payout ratio of 69.57%, to be paid on August 29th.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Bio-Techne, with a consensus price target of $69.42 and some firms adjusting their target prices lower.

Neuberger Berman Group LLC reduced its position in shares of Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 15.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,026,025 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 555,753 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned about 1.91% of Bio-Techne worth $177,416,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 17.9% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 19,630 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 2,980 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the first quarter worth about $1,362,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 3,534.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 105,241 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $6,170,000 after purchasing an additional 102,345 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 2.2% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 18,524 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Trading Down 1.8%

TECH traded down $0.97 during trading on Thursday, hitting $53.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,597,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,529,792. Bio-Techne Corp has a twelve month low of $46.01 and a twelve month high of $80.95. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $52.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 116.83, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.40.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $315.14 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. Bio-Techne's quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 7th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the biotechnology company to purchase up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on TECH shares. Stephens upgraded Bio-Techne to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Thursday, June 5th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Bio-Techne from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Bio-Techne from $90.00 to $75.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Bio-Techne from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.42.

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.