Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Shares Acquired by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 268,472 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,483 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.17% of Bio-Techne worth $19,336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Bio-Techne by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,594,608 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,339,370,000 after acquiring an additional 275,644 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Bio-Techne by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,001,296 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $287,488,000 after buying an additional 98,660 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,820,464 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $275,188,000 after acquiring an additional 358,756 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its position in Bio-Techne by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 3,581,778 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $257,995,000 after purchasing an additional 65,686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,040,840 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $147,002,000 after buying an additional 354,478 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.95% of the company's stock.

Bio-Techne Trading Down 0.3 %

Bio-Techne stock traded down $0.15 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $50.35. The company had a trading volume of 1,530,024 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,219,124. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.86, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.45. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $56.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.43. Bio-Techne Co. has a 12-month low of $46.01 and a 12-month high of $85.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a current ratio of 3.94.

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

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Baird R W cut shares of Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Bio-Techne from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bio-Techne presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $81.14.

Insider Transactions at Bio-Techne

In related news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of Bio-Techne stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total transaction of $122,685.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at $130,336.96. The trade was a 48.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

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.