Select Equity Group L.P. Boosts Stock Holdings in Bio-Techne Corp $TECH

Key Points

• Select Equity Group L.P. increased its stake in Bio-Techne Corp by 129.8%, now owning approximately 5.37 million shares valued at around $314.6 million.
• Bio-Techne recently reported an EPS of $0.53, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.50, along with a revenue increase of 3.6% compared to the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.08, leading to an annualized dividend yield of 0.6% with a payout ratio of approximately 69.57%.

Select Equity Group L.P. grew its stake in Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 129.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,366,003 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,030,644 shares during the quarter. Bio-Techne accounts for 1.3% of Select Equity Group L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Select Equity Group L.P. owned about 3.39% of Bio-Techne worth $314,609,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sandler Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 1st quarter worth $1,584,000. Petrus Trust Company LTA bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 1st quarter worth $399,000. NFJ Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the 1st quarter valued at $4,366,000. Maverick Capital Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the 1st quarter valued at $30,657,000. Finally, Flputnam Investment Management Co. grew its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 14,016 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $822,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Trading Down 4.1%

Bio-Techne stock traded down $2.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $51.05. The company had a trading volume of 733,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,047,046. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $53.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 3.46. Bio-Techne Corp has a 1 year low of $46.01 and a 1 year high of $80.95. The firm has a market cap of $8.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 111.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.47.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 13.43%. The firm had revenue of $316.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.14 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. Bio-Techne's payout ratio is currently 69.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TECH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stephens upgraded Bio-Techne to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $65.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Citigroup upgraded Bio-Techne from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Bio-Techne in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Bio-Techne from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $70.42.

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.