Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Acquires 33,360 Shares of Bio-Techne Corp $TECH

Key Points

• Fort Washington Investment Advisors increased its Bio-Techne stake by 10.2% in the first quarter, buying 33,360 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 360,913 shares valued at about $18.86 million.
• Other hedge funds also made smaller increases in Bio-Techne, and institutional investors now own 98.95% of the company’s stock, underscoring heavy institutional interest.
• Analysts remain mixed on TECH, with a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $68.07, while recent comments ranged from upgrades to downgrades and lower price targets.

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 10.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 360,913 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 33,360 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH owned about 0.23% of Bio-Techne worth $18,861,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of TECH. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in Bio-Techne by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 5,752 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 6,052 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $356,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 28.4% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 786 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 5,351 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 3.4% in the third quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,703 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.95% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on TECH shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $50.00 target price on Bio-Techne in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup lowered shares of Bio-Techne from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $76.00 to $62.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Bio-Techne from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Bio-Techne from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $68.07.

Bio-Techne News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Bio-Techne this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Merck KGaA’s all-cash buyout offer gives Bio-Techne shareholders a clear takeover price and a premium valuation anchor. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, Agrees to Acquire Bio-Techne, Strengthening Leadership Position in Fast-Growing Life Sciences Markets
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst actions were mixed but included an upgrade from Evercore to strong-buy and a price-target increase from Baird to $73, reinforcing the view that the shares were moving toward deal value.
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusual call-option activity suggests traders are positioning for further merger-related volatility, but that activity does not change the takeover terms.
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder-law-firm investigations have begun over whether the Merck deal provides a fair price, which could add some headline risk and scrutiny around the transaction. SHAREHOLDER ALERT: The M&A Class Action Firm Announces An Investigation of Bio-Techne Corporation NASDAQ: TECH

Bio-Techne Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TECH opened at $71.00 on Monday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $52.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.07. Bio-Techne Corp has a 1-year low of $43.19 and a 1-year high of $72.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 102.90, a P/E/G ratio of 6.88 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 4.49, a quick ratio of 3.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.02). Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 9.05%.The company had revenue of $311.42 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.11 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. Bio-Techne's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.38%.

Bio-Techne Company Profile

Bio-Techne Corporation NASDAQ: TECH is a global life sciences company that develops, manufactures and sells high-quality reagents, instruments and services for the research, diagnostic and bioprocessing markets. Its core product offerings include recombinant proteins, antibodies, immunoassays, nucleic acid probes and kits, single-cell analysis solutions and automated protein analysis systems. Flagship brands such as R&D Systems, Novus Biologicals, ProteinSimple and Advanced Cell Diagnostics provide researchers and clinicians with reliable tools for cell biology, immunology, proteomics and genomics applications.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Bio-Techne serves customers across North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region through a combination of direct sales, distributors and strategic partnerships.

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