Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Sells 7,800 Shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 23.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,600 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 7,800 shares during the quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.'s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $1,844,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT increased its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 10,799 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $778,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,967 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $862,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 8,394 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $605,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its holdings in Bio-Techne by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 43,144 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,108,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Utah Retirement Systems increased its holdings in Bio-Techne by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 25,756 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,855,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.95% of the company's stock.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

TECH stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $48.40. The company had a trading volume of 11,773,067 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,356,962. The company has a market capitalization of $7.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.46. Bio-Techne Co. has a 12-month low of $46.01 and a 12-month high of $83.62. The company has a quick ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $50.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.59.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $316.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $317.92 million. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 13.22%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.48 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.02%.

Bio-Techne declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 7th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the biotechnology company to purchase up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $72.00 to $63.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Friday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $59.00 target price for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.00.

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.