TD Asset Management Inc Sells 31,546 Shares of Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH)

Key Points

• TD Asset Management Inc reduced its holdings in Bio-Techne Corp by 18.0%, selling 31,546 shares during the first quarter, leaving it with 143,364 shares valued at approximately $8.4 million.
• Bio-Techne recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share and has approved a $500 million share repurchase plan, indicating confidence in the company's valuation.
• The company's stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $69.58 as analysts provide mixed ratings.

TD Asset Management Inc lowered its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 18.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 143,364 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 31,546 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc owned 0.09% of Bio-Techne worth $8,405,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Bio-Techne by 17.9% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 19,630 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 2,980 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 1st quarter worth about $1,362,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 4th quarter worth about $3,940,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 3,534.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 105,241 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $6,170,000 after acquiring an additional 102,345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors own 98.95% of the company's stock.

Bio-Techne Trading Down 5.2%

TECH stock opened at $54.73 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.58 billion, a PE ratio of 66.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.39. Bio-Techne Corp has a 12 month low of $46.01 and a 12 month high of $83.62. The firm's 50-day moving average is $51.75 and its 200 day moving average is $57.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 3.71 and a quick ratio of 2.58.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $316.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $317.92 million. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 10.89% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The firm's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.48 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.02%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens upgraded shares of Bio-Techne to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Friday, May 30th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $59.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group lowered their target price 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. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.58.

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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