Bio-Techne Corp $TECH is Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC's 7th Largest Position

Key Points

• Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC increased its stake in Bio-Techne Corp by 16.1%, now holding 563,730 shares, making it the firm's 7th biggest holding.
• Bio-Techne announced a $500 million stock buyback plan, which allows the company to repurchase up to 6.5% of its shares, signaling confidence in its stock valuation.
• The company reported $0.53 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates, with a revenue increase of 3.6% year-over-year.

Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 16.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 563,730 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 78,213 shares during the quarter. Bio-Techne accounts for about 2.4% of Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC owned approximately 0.36% of Bio-Techne worth $33,051,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in TECH. CX Institutional acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the first quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Bio-Techne in a report on Friday, May 30th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $59.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered Bio-Techne from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 8th. Finally, Stephens upgraded Bio-Techne to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.42.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of TECH traded down $1.89 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $54.33. The stock had a trading volume of 4,028,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,167,253. The firm has a market cap of $8.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 118.11, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $53.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 3.46 and a quick ratio of 2.38. Bio-Techne Corp has a 52 week low of $46.01 and a 52 week high of $80.95.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $316.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.14 million. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 13.43%. The company's revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

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

Bio-Techne declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 7th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the biotechnology company to buy up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership 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.