Bio-Techne Corp $TECH Shares Sold by Northern Trust Corp

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp has reduced its stake in Bio-Techne Corp by 2.6%, selling 43,995 shares, and now owns 1.02% of the company, valued at $94.86 million.
• Bio-Techne recently reported earnings of $0.53 per share for the quarter, exceeding estimates, with a revenue of $316.96 million, reflecting a 3.6% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share, with a payout ratio of 69.57%, and initiated a $500 million share buyback program, indicating confidence in its stock value.

Northern Trust Corp trimmed its holdings in Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 2.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,617,959 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 43,995 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.02% of Bio-Techne worth $94,861,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 19,630 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,153,000 after buying an additional 2,980 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,362,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 3,534.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 105,241 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $6,170,000 after buying an additional 102,345 shares during the period. CX Institutional purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 18,524 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,086,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.95% of the company's stock.

Bio-Techne Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of Bio-Techne stock traded down $1.98 on Thursday, reaching $54.24. 2,479,296 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,037,376. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 3.46 and a quick ratio of 2.38. Bio-Techne Corp has a 1-year low of $46.01 and a 1-year high of $80.95. The company has a market cap of $8.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 117.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.40. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $53.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.43.

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

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors 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 yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio is 69.57%.

Bio-Techne declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 7th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the biotechnology company to repurchase up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TECH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Bio-Techne from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 8th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Bio-Techne in a report on Friday, May 30th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $59.00 target price for the company. Stephens raised shares of Bio-Techne to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $90.00 to $75.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.