Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 57.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,125 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 6,844 shares during the period. Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC's holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $369,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 41,103 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,285,000 after buying an additional 3,731 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 45,550 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,641,000 after purchasing an additional 4,574 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,808 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Bio-Techne by 4.8% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,957 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,755,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in Bio-Techne by 55.3% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 4,651 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 1,656 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.95% of the company's stock.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TECH traded down $1.87 on Friday, hitting $48.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,741,466 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,194,915. Bio-Techne Co. has a 1 year low of $46.44 and a 1 year high of $85.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 3.94 and a quick ratio of 2.77. The company has a market capitalization of $7.60 billion, a PE ratio of 48.59, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.86.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.03). Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 13.22%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. Bio-Techne's payout ratio is 32.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Baird R W lowered shares of Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bio-Techne news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total transaction of $122,685.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at $130,336.96. This represents a 48.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of Bio-Techne stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.29, for a total value of $1,035,067.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,014,619.16. This represents a 25.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.