Norges Bank Invests $137.30 Million in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,906,162 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $137,301,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the third quarter valued at approximately $89,724,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Bio-Techne in the 4th quarter valued at $44,479,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in Bio-Techne by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,040,840 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $147,002,000 after purchasing an additional 354,478 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Bio-Techne by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,594,608 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,339,370,000 after purchasing an additional 275,644 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the third quarter valued at about $20,071,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

NASDAQ:TECH opened at $58.63 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Bio-Techne Co. has a fifty-two week low of $56.60 and a fifty-two week high of $85.57. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.33. The stock has a market cap of $9.27 billion, a PE ratio of 59.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last issued 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 return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 13.22%. Analysts expect that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne’s payout ratio is currently 32.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Bio-Techne from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bio-Techne news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of Bio-Techne 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,336.96. The trade was a 48.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,004 shares in the company, valued at $3,014,619.16. This trade represents a 25.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.