Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Has $2.74 Million Stake in Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Bio-Techne Corp by 10.6%, selling 5,519 shares and holding 46,725 shares worth approximately $2.74 million following the sale.
• Bio-Techne reported earnings of $0.56 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, and its revenue increased 4.2% year-over-year despite being slightly below estimates.
• The company has initiated a $500 million share buyback program, indicating a belief that its stock is currently undervalued, alongside a recently declared quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 10.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,725 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 5,519 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $2,739,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,654,267 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $767,428,000 after purchasing an additional 1,229,954 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its position in Bio-Techne by 45.7% during the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,912,377 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $112,123,000 after purchasing an additional 599,982 shares in the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. grew its position in Bio-Techne by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 2,335,359 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $168,216,000 after purchasing an additional 495,404 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Bio-Techne by 18.5% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,025,409 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $177,380,000 after purchasing an additional 472,847 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in Bio-Techne during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,047,000. 98.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Bio-Techne stock traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $49.65. The stock had a trading volume of 242,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,043,792. The company has a 50-day moving average of $52.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.60. The company has a quick ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 3.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $7.78 billion, a PE ratio of 60.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.40. Bio-Techne Corp has a fifty-two week low of $46.01 and a fifty-two week high of $80.95.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $316.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $315.14 million. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 10.89%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the biotechnology company to purchase up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Bio-Techne's payout ratio is presently 39.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on TECH shares. Stephens upgraded Bio-Techne to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Bio-Techne from $72.00 to $63.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. TD Cowen started coverage on Bio-Techne in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. UBS Group decreased their price target on Bio-Techne from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Bio-Techne from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bio-Techne has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.58.

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.