NFJ Investment Group LLC Invests $4.37 Million in Bio-Techne Corp $TECH

Key Points

• NFJ Investment Group LLC has invested approximately $4.37 million in Bio-Techne Corp, purchasing 74,460 shares in the 1st quarter.
• Several large investors, including Price T Rowe Associates and Invesco Ltd., have also increased their holdings in Bio-Techne, indicating strong institutional interest.
• Bio-Techne reported a quarterly EPS of $0.53, exceeding analysts' expectations, and announced a dividend of $0.08 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 0.6%.

NFJ Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 74,460 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $4,366,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CX Institutional purchased a new stake in Bio-Techne in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the first quarter worth approximately $41,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in Bio-Techne by 1,239.1% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 924 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Bio-Techne in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.95% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on 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. Citigroup upgraded Bio-Techne from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $55.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Bio-Techne from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Bio-Techne presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.42.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of Bio-Techne stock traded up $0.09 on Tuesday, reaching $54.20. The stock had a trading volume of 2,229,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,847,815. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 3.46. The business's 50-day moving average price is $54.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.56. The stock has a market cap of $8.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 117.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 1.47. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $316.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.14 million. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 13.43%. The business's revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

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

Bio-Techne Company 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.