WCM Investment Management LLC Purchases Shares of 13,029 Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 13,029 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,019,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Simplicity Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the 4th quarter valued at $216,000. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 831.4% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 46,205 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,565,000 after buying an additional 41,244 shares in the last quarter. Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp acquired a new position in Bio-Techne in the 4th quarter worth $216,000. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 68.2% in the 4th quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 6,351 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $490,000 after buying an additional 2,576 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Bio-Techne in the 4th quarter worth $332,000. 98.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

NASDAQ TECH traded down $1.21 on Monday, hitting $65.52. The stock had a trading volume of 735,416 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,065,045. Bio-Techne Co. has a one year low of $51.79 and a one year 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 market cap of $10.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.48, a P/E/G ratio of 7.55 and a beta of 1.22. The company's 50-day moving average is $70.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.77.

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

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. 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 that occurred 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 completion of 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on TECH shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Bio-Techne from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Stephens cut their target price 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $84.11.

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.