Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Shares Acquired by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 1,389.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 784,543 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 731,869 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.50% of Bio-Techne worth $60,535,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in Bio-Techne by 1,116.2% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 403,148 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $31,107,000 after buying an additional 370,000 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 14.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,880,812 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $128,027,000 after acquiring an additional 241,771 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new position in Bio-Techne in the third quarter worth about $15,499,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,309,295 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $101,025,000 after purchasing an additional 170,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,305,826 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $225,028,000 after purchasing an additional 143,716 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.95% of the company's stock.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

Bio-Techne stock traded up $0.97 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $83.81. 1,366,381 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,120,356. The company has a quick ratio of 2.88, a current ratio of 4.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Bio-Techne Co. has a 12 month low of $51.79 and a 12 month high of $89.91. The stock's fifty day moving average is $71.02 and its 200-day moving average is $69.79. The stock has a market cap of $13.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.51, a PEG ratio of 10.03 and a beta of 1.23.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The biotechnology company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $303.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.36 million. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 17.59% and a return on equity of 13.60%. Bio-Techne's revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.56 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TECH has been the subject of a number of research reports. 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 report on Friday, February 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Bio-Techne from $85.00 to $82.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Stephens reduced their price target on Bio-Techne from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Bio-Techne from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Roeland Nusse sold 10,400 shares of Bio-Techne stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.98, for a total value of $800,592.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 43,097 shares in the company, valued at $3,317,607.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.45% of the company's stock.

About Bio-Techne

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.