Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Holdings Lowered by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its holdings in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 22.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 717,222 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 210,183 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.45% of Bio-Techne worth $51,661,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 41,103 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,285,000 after buying an additional 3,731 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 86.0% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 80,436 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $6,429,000 after purchasing an additional 37,181 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 336 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,957 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,755,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

TECH stock traded down $1.72 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $48.26. The company had a trading volume of 1,072,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,187,484. The company has a quick ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $59.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.63 billion, a PE ratio of 48.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.45. Bio-Techne Co. has a fifty-two week low of $46.44 and a fifty-two week high of $85.57.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 12.73%. Analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.32%.

Insider Activity at Bio-Techne

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on TECH. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Baird R W downgraded Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Bio-Techne from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.25.

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.