Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) Shares Gap Up After Dividend Announcement

Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock had previously closed at $72.55, but opened at $79.28. Bio-Techne shares last traded at $77.26, with a volume of 402,167 shares changing hands.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.00.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $74.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.36. The company has a current ratio of 4.56, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market cap of $12.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.19, a P/E/G ratio of 5.42 and a beta of 1.27.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.03). Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.76% and a net margin of 12.86%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Bio-Techne

In other news, 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 transaction of $1,035,067.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,014,619.16. The trade was a 25.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bio-Techne

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Bio-Techne by 46.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 530 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Bio-Techne in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Bio-Techne in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in Bio-Techne by 60.4% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 672 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 51.5% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 612 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.