Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Decreases Holdings in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. lessened its stake in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 23.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,600 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 7,800 shares during the quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.'s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $1,844,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $137,301,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,654,267 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $767,428,000 after buying an additional 1,229,954 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,479,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,047,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,820,464 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $275,188,000 after buying an additional 358,756 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.95% of the company's stock.

Bio-Techne Stock Up 2.1%

NASDAQ:TECH traded up $0.96 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $47.62. 552,036 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,287,067. 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 firm's 50-day simple moving average is $52.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.03. Bio-Techne Co. has a one year low of $45.44 and a one year high of $83.96. The company has a market cap of $7.47 billion, a PE ratio of 48.08, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.46.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.05. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 13.22%. The business had revenue of $316.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $317.92 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.48 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the biotechnology company to repurchase up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on TECH shares. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Baird R W downgraded Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI started coverage on Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup reduced their target price on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $73.44.

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.