Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Increases Stake in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 193.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,823 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,129 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $780,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,594,608 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,339,370,000 after buying an additional 275,644 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Bio-Techne by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,001,296 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $287,488,000 after purchasing an additional 98,660 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,820,464 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $275,188,000 after purchasing an additional 358,756 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 3,581,778 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $257,995,000 after purchasing an additional 65,686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,040,840 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $147,002,000 after purchasing an additional 354,478 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on TECH. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Bio-Techne in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $81.14.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

Shares of TECH traded down $0.67 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $49.68. 1,028,910 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,218,802. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $56.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a current ratio of 3.94. The company has a market cap of $7.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.45. Bio-Techne Co. has a 12-month low of $46.01 and a 12-month high of $85.57.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last issued 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%. Research analysts expect that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $130,336.96. The trade was a 48.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

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.