Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Stake Increased by UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 22.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 924,721 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 170,377 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.58% of Bio-Techne worth $66,608,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,594,608 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,339,370,000 after acquiring an additional 275,644 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,654,267 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $767,428,000 after purchasing an additional 1,229,954 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,702,942 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $338,756,000 after buying an additional 317,349 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,001,296 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $287,488,000 after buying an additional 98,660 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Bio-Techne by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,820,464 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $275,188,000 after acquiring an additional 358,756 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.95% of the company's stock.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

Bio-Techne stock traded down $0.76 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $47.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,687,518 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,311,146. Bio-Techne Co. has a twelve month low of $46.01 and a twelve month high of $83.62. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $51.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.05. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 13.22%. The company had revenue of $316.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $317.92 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.48 earnings per share. Bio-Techne's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 7th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the biotechnology company to purchase up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on TECH. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bio-Techne from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird cut shares of Bio-Techne from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group cut their price target on Bio-Techne from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Bio-Techne from $72.00 to $63.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Bio-Techne from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bio-Techne currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $73.44.

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.