Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Shares Purchased by Metis Global Partners LLC

Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,912 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $498,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 7,012 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $560,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 11,349 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $907,000 after purchasing an additional 1,235 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter worth about $59,000. Radnor Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter worth about $211,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 261,900 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $20,934,000 after purchasing an additional 1,843 shares during the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on TECH. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bio-Techne currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.14.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of Bio-Techne stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total transaction of $122,685.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at $130,336.96. This trade represents a 48.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of Bio-Techne stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 39,004 shares in the company, 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.

Bio-Techne Trading Up 3.5 %

NASDAQ TECH opened at $62.20 on Thursday. Bio-Techne Co. has a one year low of $58.98 and a one year high of $85.57. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $71.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.89. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $9.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.83, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.27.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.03). Bio-Techne had a net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 12.73%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.32%.

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.