Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Has $19.30 Million Stock Position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 3.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 329,152 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,030 shares during the quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC owned 0.21% of Bio-Techne worth $19,298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of TECH. CX Institutional bought a new position in Bio-Techne in the first quarter worth $27,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 1,355.6% during the 4th quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,048 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 976 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its stake in Bio-Techne by 42.6% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,078 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.95% of the company's stock.

Bio-Techne Trading Up 2.2%

NASDAQ:TECH opened at $51.63 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.94, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Bio-Techne Co. has a 1-year low of $46.01 and a 1-year high of $83.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.15, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.38. The business's 50-day moving average price is $49.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.87.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $316.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $317.92 million. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 12.73%. Bio-Techne's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.48 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.02%.

Bio-Techne declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Baird R W cut Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Bio-Techne from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, KeyCorp restated 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $72.00.

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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