Fox Run Management L.L.C. Makes New Investment in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 20,085 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,447,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in TECH. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Bio-Techne by 46.6% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 16,650 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 5,295 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Bio-Techne by 58.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 43,298 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,119,000 after buying an additional 16,038 shares in the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in Bio-Techne during the third quarter worth about $1,188,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Bio-Techne in the third quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 254,034 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $18,298,000 after acquiring an additional 25,650 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on TECH. StockNews.com raised shares of Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird downgraded Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $88.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Baird R W downgraded Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.25.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

TECH opened at $60.61 on Friday. Bio-Techne Co. has a 12-month low of $56.60 and a 12-month high of $85.57. 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 has a market capitalization of $9.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.22, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $68.15 and a 200-day moving average of $71.88.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 13.22%. Equities analysts forecast that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne’s payout ratio is presently 32.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.