Jensen Investment Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH)

Key Points

• Jensen Investment Management Inc. has reduced its holdings in Bio-Techne Corp by 13.3% during the first quarter, selling 7,310 shares and leaving it with a total of 47,450 shares worth approximately $2.78 million.
• Bio-Techne recently declared a $500 million share buyback plan and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share, indicating a commitment to return capital to shareholders.
• Analysts have mixed views on Bio-Techne, with target prices ranging from $63 to $95, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" while the company's stock trades near $54.64.

Jensen Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 13.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,450 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 7,310 shares during the quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $2,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of TECH. Broadcrest Asset Management LLC grew its position in Bio-Techne by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Broadcrest Asset Management LLC now owns 150,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $8,794,000 after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the first quarter worth approximately $39,658,000. Geneva Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 0.8% in the first quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,098,719 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $64,418,000 after purchasing an additional 8,784 shares during the last quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 107.6% in the first quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 791,650 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $46,414,000 after purchasing an additional 410,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych boosted its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 8.6% during the first quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 22,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,290,000 after buying an additional 1,734 shares during the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TECH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stephens raised Bio-Techne to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $65.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Bio-Techne from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 8th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.42.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Bio-Techne stock traded up $0.27 during trading on Friday, hitting $50.42. The stock had a trading volume of 1,898,099 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,430,930. The stock's 50 day moving average is $52.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.23. Bio-Techne Corp has a 1 year low of $46.01 and a 1 year high of $80.95. The stock has a market cap of $7.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 109.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

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

Bio-Techne declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the biotechnology company to buy up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued 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 of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Bio-Techne's payout ratio is presently 39.02%.

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.