American Century Companies Inc. Cuts Holdings in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

American Century Companies Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 681,981 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 24,862 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.43% of Bio-Techne worth $49,123,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in Bio-Techne by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 19,153 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,531,000 after buying an additional 2,032 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 6,883 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $550,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter worth $434,000. 98.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bio-Techne news, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total value of $122,685.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at $130,336.96. The trade was a 48.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on TECH. Baird R W lowered shares of Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Bio-Techne from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.25.

Bio-Techne Trading Down 2.0 %

NASDAQ:TECH traded down $1.22 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $58.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,505,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,111,228. Bio-Techne Co. has a 1 year low of $56.60 and a 1 year high of $85.57. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.32, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30.

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 return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 13.22%. Research analysts expect that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne's payout ratio is currently 32.32%.

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.