UBS Group AG Raises Position in Bio-Techne Corp $TECH

Key Points

• UBS Group AG increased its stake in Bio-Techne by 47.4% in Q4 to 2,224,263 shares (1.43% of the company), representing about $130.8 million; institutional investors now own roughly 98.95% of the stock.
• Bio-Techne slightly beat Q results with EPS of $0.46 vs. $0.43 and revenue of $295.9M vs. $290.2M, though revenue was down 0.4% year-over-year; the stock opened at $55.32 (trading up ~6.5%), market cap ~$8.65B and a P/E of 108.47.
• Analysts hold a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $72.77 (ratings: 1 Strong Buy, 9 Buy, 3 Hold, 1 Sell); the company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.08 (annualized yield ~0.6%).

UBS Group AG increased its holdings in Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 47.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,224,263 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 714,827 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned 1.43% of Bio-Techne worth $130,809,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in Bio-Techne by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 5,752 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Bio-Techne by 28.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 786 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Bio-Techne by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,703 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Bio-Techne by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 3,630 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $202,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Bio-Techne by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,883 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Bio-Techne from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Evercore raised their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $65.00 price target on shares of Bio-Techne and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $80.00 price target (up from $70.00) on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.77.

Bio-Techne Trading Up 6.5%

Shares of TECH opened at $55.32 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $54.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 108.47, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a current ratio of 4.54, a quick ratio of 3.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Bio-Techne Corp has a 1-year low of $46.05 and a 1-year high of $72.16.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $295.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $290.20 million. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 6.67% and a return on equity of 13.94%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 16th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Bio-Techne's payout ratio is presently 62.75%.

Bio-Techne Profile

Bio-Techne Corporation NASDAQ: TECH is a global life sciences company that develops, manufactures and sells high-quality reagents, instruments and services for the research, diagnostic and bioprocessing markets. Its core product offerings include recombinant proteins, antibodies, immunoassays, nucleic acid probes and kits, single-cell analysis solutions and automated protein analysis systems. Flagship brands such as R&D Systems, Novus Biologicals, ProteinSimple and Advanced Cell Diagnostics provide researchers and clinicians with reliable tools for cell biology, immunology, proteomics and genomics applications.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Bio-Techne serves customers across North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region through a combination of direct sales, distributors and strategic partnerships.

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