Credit Agricole S A Trims Stock Holdings in Bio-Techne Corp $TECH

Key Points

• Credit Agricole S A has significantly reduced its stake in Bio-Techne Corp by 70.9%, selling 36,777 shares to end with 15,113 shares valued at approximately $886,000.
• Analysts are optimistic about Bio-Techne's performance, with multiple upgrades in ratings; Citigroup has raised its price target from $55 to $70 and issued a Buy rating.
• Bio-Techne announced a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share and initiated a stock buyback program worth $500 million, reflecting confidence in its share valuation.

Credit Agricole S A reduced its holdings in Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 70.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,113 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 36,777 shares during the quarter. Credit Agricole S A's holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $886,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 17.9% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 19,630 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,153,000 after buying an additional 2,980 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in Bio-Techne during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,362,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 3,534.0% in the 1st 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 in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 2.2% in the 1st 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 and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TECH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Bio-Techne in a research report on Friday, May 30th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $59.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup raised Bio-Techne from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $55.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Bio-Techne from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.42.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

NASDAQ TECH opened at $57.09 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $8.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 124.11, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 1.40. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $53.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.51. 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.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $315.14 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio is currently 69.57%.

Bio-Techne announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the biotechnology company to buy up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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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