617,508 Shares in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Acquired by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 617,508 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $44,479,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.39% of Bio-Techne as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 530 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 38.5% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 756 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Bio-Techne

In other news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 $130,336.96. This trade represents a 48.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,004 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,014,619.16. The trade was 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 Trading Down 7.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:TECH opened at $58.47 on Wednesday. Bio-Techne Co. has a 12-month low of $58.20 and a 12-month high of $85.57. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $70.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.62. The company has a market capitalization of $9.24 billion, a PE ratio of 59.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 3.94, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

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Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 predict that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TECH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their price target on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Baird R W downgraded Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Bio-Techne from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bio-Techne presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $82.14.

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.

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