Harbor Investment Advisory LLC Raises Stock Position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 529.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,708 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 9,008 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC's holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $628,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Bio-Techne in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 1,355.6% in the fourth 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. Huntington National Bank increased its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 42.6% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 45.3% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,376 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.95% of the company's stock.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of TECH traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $48.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,191,677 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,374,802. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.95. Bio-Techne Co. has a 52-week low of $46.01 and a 52-week high of $83.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 3.94 and a quick ratio of 2.77. The company has a market cap of $7.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.18, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.46.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.05. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 12.73%. The company had revenue of $316.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $317.92 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.48 EPS. Bio-Techne's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI started coverage on Bio-Techne in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Friday, May 30th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $59.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Bio-Techne from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 31st. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bio-Techne has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.00.

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.