Geneva Capital Management LLC Has $64.42 Million Stake in Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH)

Key Points

• Geneva Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Bio-Techne Corp by 0.8%, owning over 1 million shares valued at approximately $64.42 million, which constitutes about 1.2% of its portfolio.
• Bio-Techne reports earnings of $0.56 per share for the most recent quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, while its revenue was $316.18 million, reflecting a 4.2% year-over-year increase.
• The company has authorized a $500 million stock repurchase program and recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share, indicating confidence in its stock value and providing returns to shareholders.

Geneva Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 0.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,098,719 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,784 shares during the quarter. Bio-Techne comprises approximately 1.2% of Geneva Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Geneva Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.70% of Bio-Techne worth $64,418,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of TECH. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Bio-Techne by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,654,267 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $767,428,000 after acquiring an additional 1,229,954 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,702,942 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $338,756,000 after acquiring an additional 317,349 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Bio-Techne by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,001,296 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $287,488,000 after purchasing an additional 98,660 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Bio-Techne by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,820,464 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $275,188,000 after buying an additional 358,756 shares during the period. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 3,581,778 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $257,995,000 after buying an additional 65,686 shares in the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Bio-Techne from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $72.00 to $63.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Stephens raised shares of Bio-Techne to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Bio-Techne from $90.00 to $75.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.58.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of TECH stock traded down $4.77 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $49.87. 6,682,386 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,114,987. The company's 50 day moving average is $52.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.65. The company has a market cap of $7.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.40. Bio-Techne Corp has a 1 year low of $46.01 and a 1 year high of $80.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 3.71 and a quick ratio of 2.58.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.03. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 10.89% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The business had revenue of $316.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.14 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.67 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Bio-Techne's payout ratio is presently 39.02%.

Bio-Techne declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the biotechnology company to reacquire up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is 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.