Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Increases Stake in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 127.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 134,815 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 75,653 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.09% of Bio-Techne worth $10,402,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the third quarter worth $27,000. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 305.0% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 324 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 124.7% in the second quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 337 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 98.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bio-Techne Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:TECH traded up $0.97 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $70.39. 1,179,959 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,147,385. Bio-Techne Co. has a fifty-two week low of $51.79 and a fifty-two week high of $89.91. The company has a quick ratio of 3.03, a current ratio of 4.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.94. The firm has a market cap of $11.06 billion, a PE ratio of 51.01, a P/E/G ratio of 7.26 and a beta of 1.22.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The biotechnology company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.03). Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 14.21% and a net margin of 19.58%. The company had revenue of $272.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $277.48 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 26th. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Bio-Techne's payout ratio is 23.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Roeland Nusse sold 10,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.98, for a total transaction of $800,592.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 43,097 shares in the company, valued at $3,317,607.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on TECH shares. Stephens dropped their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Thursday, February 8th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Thursday, December 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Bio-Techne from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $65.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bio-Techne has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $84.11.

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.