Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Shares Acquired by Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 317.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 136,243 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 103,627 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Bio-Techne worth $9,814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 1.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,395,993 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $511,232,000 after purchasing an additional 95,133 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 21.0% in 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 buying an additional 354,478 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 51,687 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the third quarter worth about $89,724,000. Finally, American Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 2.5% in the third quarter. American Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,114,393 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $89,073,000 after buying an additional 27,508 shares during the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Bio-Techne

In related news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total value of $122,685.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 Stock Performance

NASDAQ TECH opened at $62.58 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $9.89 billion, a PE ratio of 63.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.21. Bio-Techne Co. has a 1-year low of $56.60 and a 1-year high of $85.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 3.94 and a quick ratio of 2.77.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup lowered their target price on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird downgraded Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Baird R W downgraded Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.14.

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.