Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. Has $1.12 Million Holdings in Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH)

Key Points

• Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its holdings in Bio-Techne Corp by 20.6%, now owning approximately $1.12 million worth of shares after selling 4,950 shares in the first quarter.
• Bio-Techne recently announced a $500 million stock buyback program, reflecting management's belief that shares are currently undervalued.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.56, exceeding analyst expectations, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 4.2%.

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. cut its position in Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 20.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,040 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 4,950 shares during the quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $1,116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of TECH. CX Institutional bought a new position in Bio-Techne in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Bio-Techne in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new position in Bio-Techne in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Bio-Techne in the first quarter valued at about $69,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its position in Bio-Techne by 30,250.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 1,214 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 1,210 shares during the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Stock Up 5.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:TECH opened at $58.47 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.31, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 3.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Bio-Techne Corp has a 12-month low of $46.01 and a 12-month high of $83.62. The business's 50 day moving average is $50.83 and its 200 day moving average is $57.81.

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

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

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Bio-Techne from $90.00 to $75.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Bio-Techne from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Bio-Techne in a report on Friday, May 30th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $59.00 target price for the company. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bio-Techne currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.58.

About Bio-Techne

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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