Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH) Stock Holdings Decreased by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Bio-Techne Corp by 42.8%, selling 17,846 shares and holding 23,857 shares valued at approximately $1.4 million.
• Several hedge funds have adjusted their positions in Bio-Techne, with the firm comprising 98.95% institutional ownership.
• Analysts have set a consensus target price of $69.58 for Bio-Techne, with a rating of "Moderate Buy" considering recent price adjustments from major financial institutions.

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 42.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,857 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 17,846 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $1,399,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Bio-Techne by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 81,801 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $6,037,000 after acquiring an additional 7,777 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 46,151 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,324,000 after buying an additional 601 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS boosted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 27,444 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,977,000 after purchasing an additional 1,366 shares during the period. Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $334,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in Bio-Techne during the fourth quarter worth $3,940,000. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Trading Up 0.3%

NASDAQ TECH traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $54.89. 1,771,180 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,991,523. Bio-Techne Corp has a 1-year low of $46.01 and a 1-year high of $81.30. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $51.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.61 billion, a PE ratio of 66.94, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.58 and a current ratio of 3.71.

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

Bio-Techne declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 buy up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Bio-Techne's payout ratio is currently 39.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Stephens upgraded Bio-Techne to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. UBS Group cut their price target on Bio-Techne from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Bio-Techne from $72.00 to $63.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.58.

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.