2Xideas AG Trims Stock Holdings in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

2Xideas AG cut its stake in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 72.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,941 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 77,152 shares during the quarter. 2Xideas AG's holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $2,157,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,594,608 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,339,370,000 after purchasing an additional 275,644 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,395,993 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $511,232,000 after buying an additional 95,133 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Bio-Techne by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,001,296 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $287,488,000 after acquiring an additional 98,660 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in Bio-Techne by 21.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 354,478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the fourth quarter worth about $137,301,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.95% of the company's stock.

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Bio-Techne Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:TECH traded up $1.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $50.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,366,270 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,174,248. Bio-Techne Co. has a fifty-two week low of $46.44 and a fifty-two week high of $85.57. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $61.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.75. 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 company has a market capitalization of $7.95 billion, a PE ratio of 50.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.45.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bio-Techne news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the firm's 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 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 company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,004 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,014,619.16. The trade was 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on TECH. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Wednesday. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Bio-Techne from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $88.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.25.

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.