Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Shares Acquired by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 21.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,040,840 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 354,478 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $147,002,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its position 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. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter valued at about $89,724,000. American Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Bio-Techne by 2.5% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 1.6% during the third quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,104,310 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $88,267,000 after acquiring an additional 17,114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP lifted its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 2.1% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 845,398 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $67,573,000 after acquiring an additional 17,296 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Bio-Techne

In related news, 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 value of $1,035,067.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,014,619.16. This trade represents a 25.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 3.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

NASDAQ:TECH opened at $72.81 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $74.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.37. Bio-Techne Co. has a 1-year low of $61.16 and a 1-year high of $85.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 4.56 and a quick ratio of 3.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.46, a PEG ratio of 5.42 and a beta of 1.27.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 12.76% and a net margin of 12.86%. Analysts forecast that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne’s payout ratio is 34.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.57.

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.