Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 9,067 Shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 146,717 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,067 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.09% of Bio-Techne worth $10,571,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,594,608 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,339,370,000 after buying an additional 275,644 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,001,296 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $287,488,000 after acquiring an additional 98,660 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,040,840 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $147,002,000 after purchasing an additional 354,478 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Bio-Techne in the 4th quarter worth about $137,301,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,465,690 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $105,574,000 after purchasing an additional 51,687 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

Shares of Bio-Techne stock traded down $2.23 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $47.76. The stock had a trading volume of 990,939 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,187,053. The company has a current ratio of 3.94, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.55 billion, a PE ratio of 48.36, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.45. The stock's 50 day moving average is $59.93 and its 200 day moving average is $69.08. Bio-Techne Co. has a twelve month low of $46.44 and a twelve month 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 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%. Equities analysts expect that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TECH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Baird R W lowered Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut Bio-Techne from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the company from $88.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

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