Stephens Investment Management Group LLC Increases Stake in Bio-Techne Corp $TECH

Key Points

• The Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its stake in Bio-Techne Corp by 3.4%, owning 845,523 shares valued at approximately $43.5 million.
• Bio-Techne's recent quarterly earnings report showed a 3.6% year-over-year revenue increase with earnings per share of $0.53, surpassing the consensus estimate.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 0.5% and a dividend payout ratio of 69.57%.

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 845,523 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 27,722 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC owned 0.54% of Bio-Techne worth $43,502,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the 1st quarter worth about $41,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 855 shares during the period. Hoese & Co LLP purchased a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the 2nd quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the 1st quarter worth about $69,000. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:TECH opened at $63.46 on Wednesday. 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 Corp has a 52-week low of $46.01 and a 52-week high of $80.80. The company has a 50 day moving average of $55.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.71. The company has a market capitalization of $9.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 137.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 1.48.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $316.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.14 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. Bio-Techne's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $90.00 to $75.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $55.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bio-Techne presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.58.

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.

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