Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Boosts Stake in Bio-Techne Corp $TECH

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. has increased its stake in Bio-Techne Corp by 6.8%, now owning approximately 7.20% of the company, valued at around $666.93 million.
• Bio-Techne reported a quarterly EPS of $0.53, exceeding estimates, and has initiated a stock buyback program of $500 million, indicating confidence in its share value.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share, resulting in an annual yield of 0.6%, with a dividend payout ratio of 69.57%.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,375,279 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 721,012 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 7.20% of Bio-Techne worth $666,933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TECH. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in Bio-Techne in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $39,658,000. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its position in Bio-Techne by 45.7% in the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,912,377 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $112,123,000 after buying an additional 599,982 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its position in Bio-Techne by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 2,335,359 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $168,216,000 after buying an additional 495,404 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Bio-Techne by 18.5% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,025,409 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $177,380,000 after buying an additional 472,847 shares during the period. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in Bio-Techne in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,047,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.95% of the company's stock.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TECH opened at $57.09 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $53.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.80. Bio-Techne Corp has a 12 month low of $46.01 and a 12 month high of $80.95. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $8.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 124.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.40.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.03. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 13.43%. The firm had revenue of $316.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.14 million. During the same period last 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 predict that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the biotechnology company to purchase up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TECH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. 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 objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Friday, May 30th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $59.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Bio-Techne from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 8th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Bio-Techne from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Bio-Techne currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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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