Fox Run Management L.L.C. Takes Position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 20,085 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,447,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of TECH. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in Bio-Techne by 60.4% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 672 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Bio-Techne by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 763 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.29, for a total value of $1,035,067.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,004 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,014,619.16. This trade represents a 25.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,336.96. This trade represents a 48.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TECH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Baird R W cut shares of Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Bio-Techne from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on Bio-Techne in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.25.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

Shares of TECH traded down $0.58 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $60.49. The company had a trading volume of 411,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,077,827. The company has a current ratio of 3.94, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Bio-Techne Co. has a 12-month low of $56.60 and a 12-month high of $85.57. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.81. The company has a market capitalization of $9.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.07, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.03). Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 13.22%. Research analysts expect that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.32%.

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.