Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 291,869 Shares of Bio-Techne Corp $TECH

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its stake in Bio-Techne Corp by 20.3%, selling 291,869 shares, and now owns approximately 0.73% of the company.
• Bio-Techne recorded a 3.6% revenue increase year-over-year for the recent quarter, reporting earnings per share of $0.53 which exceeded analyst expectations.
• The company announced a $500 million stock buyback plan, which indicates confidence from the board in the company’s valuation, along with a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share.

Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its position in shares of Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 20.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,147,444 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 291,869 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 0.73% of Bio-Techne worth $67,275,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in TECH. CX Institutional purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Bio-Techne during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. GeoWealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Bio-Techne during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new stake in Bio-Techne during the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in Bio-Techne by 1,239.1% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 924 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Trading Up 5.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:TECH opened at $57.09 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $53.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 124.11, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.40. Bio-Techne Corp has a 52-week low of $46.01 and a 52-week high of $80.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 3.46.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $316.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $315.14 million. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 13.43%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. Analysts expect that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

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

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Stephens raised Bio-Techne to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $65.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Bio-Techne from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Friday, May 30th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $59.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bio-Techne currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.42.

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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