Nicholas Company Inc. Acquires 23,785 Shares of Bio-Techne Corp $TECH

Key Points

• Nicholas Company Inc. boosted its Bio-Techne stake by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, buying 23,785 shares and bringing its total holding to 390,794 shares worth about $22.98 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on Bio-Techne is mixed but generally positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.77. UBS recently raised its target to $79, while Zacks and Weiss both upgraded the stock to Hold.
• Bio-Techne recently reported quarterly results that missed analyst expectations, posting EPS of $0.53 versus $0.55 expected and revenue of $311.42 million versus $316.11 million estimated. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share, or $0.32 annually.

Nicholas Company Inc. increased its position in Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 390,794 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 23,785 shares during the quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. owned approximately 0.25% of Bio-Techne worth $22,983,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Bio-Techne in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. eCIO Inc. bought a new position in Bio-Techne in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in Bio-Techne in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new position in Bio-Techne in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Bio-Techne by 506.3% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 673 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 562 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on TECH shares. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $49.00 target price on Bio-Techne in a report on Thursday. Zacks Research upgraded Bio-Techne from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Bio-Techne from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $79.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Thursday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.77.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of TECH stock opened at $48.36 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 4.49 and a quick ratio of 3.18. The business has a fifty day moving average of $54.41 and a 200 day moving average of $59.54. Bio-Techne Corp has a 1 year low of $45.12 and a 1 year high of $72.16.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $311.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $316.11 million. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 9.05%.The business's revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.56 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.38%.

About Bio-Techne

Bio-Techne Corporation NASDAQ: TECH is a global life sciences company that develops, manufactures and sells high-quality reagents, instruments and services for the research, diagnostic and bioprocessing markets. Its core product offerings include recombinant proteins, antibodies, immunoassays, nucleic acid probes and kits, single-cell analysis solutions and automated protein analysis systems. Flagship brands such as R&D Systems, Novus Biologicals, ProteinSimple and Advanced Cell Diagnostics provide researchers and clinicians with reliable tools for cell biology, immunology, proteomics and genomics applications.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Bio-Techne serves customers across North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region through a combination of direct sales, distributors and strategic partnerships.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding TECH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.