Vanguard Group Inc. Reduces Position in Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH)

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,526,824 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 67,784 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 11.72% of Bio-Techne worth $1,086,228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,665 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,128,000 after buying an additional 953 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 70,157 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $5,053,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 55.5% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 9,206 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $663,000 after buying an additional 3,285 shares during the period. Granite Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 48.9% in the fourth quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 136,572 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $9,837,000 after buying an additional 44,865 shares during the period. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 35.9% in the fourth quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 17,971 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,295,000 after buying an additional 4,748 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Stock Up 3.6%

Shares of TECH traded up $1.88 on Wednesday, hitting $54.71. 1,666,933 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,059,298. The company has a market capitalization of $8.58 billion, a PE ratio of 118.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 3.46. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.72. Bio-Techne Corp has a one year low of $46.01 and a one year high of $80.95.

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

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

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on TECH shares. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Friday, May 30th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $59.00 price objective for the company. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $90.00 to $75.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 8th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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.