Raymond James Financial Inc. Boosts Stake in Bio-Techne Corp $TECH

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Bio-Techne Corp by 0.9%, holding approximately $36.54 million worth of the company's shares.
• Bio-Techne recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.53 EPS, surpassing analysts' expectations, with revenue of $316.96 million for the quarter.
• The company has initiated a $500 million share buyback plan, signaling confidence from management in the stock's undervaluation.

Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 623,304 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,796 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.39% of Bio-Techne worth $36,544,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Cresset Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 218.0% in the first quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 604,142 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $35,421,000 after buying an additional 414,186 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 106.7% in the first quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 94,392 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $5,492,000 after buying an additional 48,730 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 55.6% in the first quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 7,972 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $467,000 after buying an additional 2,847 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 3.3% in the first quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 45,600 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,674,000 after buying an additional 1,450 shares during the period. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 3.0% in the first quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 24,200 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,419,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Trading Down 4.2%

NASDAQ:TECH traded down $2.35 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $53.87. 2,316,432 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,036,396. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 117.12, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.40. Bio-Techne Corp has a 52 week low of $46.01 and a 52 week high of $80.95. The firm's 50 day moving average is $53.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.43. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

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

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

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TECH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group lowered 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. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $90.00 to $75.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, August 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.42.

About Bio-Techne

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.