State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Trims Stock Holdings in Bio-Techne Corp $TECH

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in Bio-Techne Corp by 10.8%, selling 6,245 shares, leaving it with a holding valued at approximately $3,029,000.
• Bio-Techne recently reported earnings of $0.53 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share.
• Several institutional investors made changes to their positions in Bio-Techne, with 98.95% of its stock now owned by institutional investors.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its stake in shares of Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 10.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,667 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 6,245 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $3,029,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in TECH. CX Institutional acquired a new position in Bio-Techne during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Bio-Techne during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in Bio-Techne during the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Bio-Techne during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in Bio-Techne by 1,239.1% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 924 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bio-Techne Stock Up 5.7%

Shares of Bio-Techne stock traded up $3.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $57.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,442,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,281,608. Bio-Techne Corp has a one year low of $46.01 and a one year high of $80.95. The company has a market capitalization of $8.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 124.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 1.40. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $53.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 3.46.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the biotechnology company to reacquire up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on TECH. Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Friday, May 30th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $59.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup raised shares of Bio-Techne from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.