Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Sells 63,515 Shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 51.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 59,419 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 63,515 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC's holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $4,280,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT raised its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 10,799 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $778,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 46.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 530 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,967 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $862,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 8,394 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 43,144 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,108,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TECH traded up $1.52 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $48.30. 466,730 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,298,244. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a current ratio of 3.94. The company has a market capitalization of $7.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.46. Bio-Techne Co. has a 1-year low of $46.01 and a 1-year high of $83.62. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $51.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.25.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $316.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $317.92 million. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 13.22%. Bio-Techne's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.48 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.02%.

Bio-Techne declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the biotechnology company to reacquire up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on TECH shares. Robert W. Baird lowered Bio-Techne from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $88.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Bio-Techne from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Baird R W lowered Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI started coverage on Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Bio-Techne from $72.00 to $63.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $73.44.

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.