Montanaro Asset Management Ltd Lowers Stock Position in Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH)

Key Points

• Montanaro Asset Management Ltd has reduced its stake in Bio-Techne Corp by 22.8%, holding 256,600 shares after selling 75,900 shares in the first quarter of 2023.
• Bio-Techne announced a $500 million share repurchase program, indicating that the board believes the company’s shares are undervalued.
• The company recently posted earnings of $0.53 EPS, surpassing analysts' expectations and showing a 3.6% revenue increase compared to the same quarter last year.

Montanaro Asset Management Ltd lessened its holdings in Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 22.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 256,600 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 75,900 shares during the quarter. Bio-Techne accounts for approximately 4.4% of Montanaro Asset Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd owned approximately 0.16% of Bio-Techne worth $15,044,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CX Institutional acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in Bio-Techne during the 1st quarter worth about $41,000. GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Bio-Techne during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Bio-Techne during the 1st quarter worth about $69,000. Institutional investors own 98.95% of the company's stock.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of TECH stock opened at $50.15 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 3.46 and a quick ratio of 2.38. The stock has a market cap of $7.86 billion, a PE ratio of 109.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $52.34 and a 200-day moving average of $55.74. Bio-Techne Corp has a one year low of $46.01 and a one year high of $80.95.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.03. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 13.43% and a net margin of 6.02%. The business had revenue of $316.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $315.14 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. Bio-Techne's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be 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 of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on TECH shares. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Friday, May 30th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $59.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $90.00 to $75.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.42.

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.

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