Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH) Shares Bought by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 602.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 49,154 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 42,153 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $2,882,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Bio-Techne during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 30,250.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 1,214 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 1,210 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 42.6% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,078 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. Finally, Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 1,355.6% during the fourth quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,048 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 976 shares in the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bio-Techne Stock Up 1.6%

TECH traded up $0.77 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $50.27. The company had a trading volume of 1,076,322 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,418,753. Bio-Techne Corp has a 1-year low of $46.01 and a 1-year high of $83.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 3.71 and a quick ratio of 2.58. The company has a market cap of $7.88 billion, a PE ratio of 61.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a 50-day moving average of $49.59 and a 200-day moving average of $61.78.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $316.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $317.92 million. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 10.89% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.48 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.02%.

Bio-Techne announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase 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 management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TECH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Bio-Techne from $72.00 to $63.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $72.00.

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.