Iron Triangle Partners LP Takes Position in Bio-Techne Corp $TECH

Key Points

• Iron Triangle Partners LP has made a new investment of approximately $14.66 million in Bio-Techne Corp, acquiring 250,000 shares, which represents 2.3% of their investment portfolio.
• Bio-Techne recently posted earnings exceeding estimates, reporting $0.53 EPS and a revenue of $316.96 million for the quarter, marking a year-over-year increase of 3.6%.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share, which will be paid on August 29th, with a dividend yield of 0.6%.

Iron Triangle Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 250,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $14,658,000. Bio-Techne accounts for approximately 2.3% of Iron Triangle Partners LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Iron Triangle Partners LP owned 0.16% of Bio-Techne as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,375,279 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $666,933,000 after acquiring an additional 721,012 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake 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. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,190,115 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $245,666,000 after acquiring an additional 369,651 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 18.5% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,025,409 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $177,380,000 after acquiring an additional 472,847 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,448,322 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $143,545,000 after acquiring an additional 28,668 shares during the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Bio-Techne from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Citigroup upgraded Bio-Techne from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Bio-Techne from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group cut their target price 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. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on Bio-Techne in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bio-Techne currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.42.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TECH traded down $1.22 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $53.42. 1,238,125 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,040,434. 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 Corp has a 12 month low of $46.01 and a 12 month high of $80.95. The company's 50 day moving average price is $53.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.37 billion, a PE ratio of 116.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.47.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $316.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.14 million. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 13.43% and a net margin of 6.02%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.57%.

Bio-Techne announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 7th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the biotechnology company to buy up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board 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.