Bamco Inc. NY Lowers Stock Position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Bamco Inc. NY reduced its holdings in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,445,540 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 331,052 shares during the quarter. Bio-Techne comprises 0.9% of Bamco Inc. NY's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Bamco Inc. NY owned 2.80% of Bio-Techne worth $355,332,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in TECH. Comerica Bank increased its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 14.8% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 53,246 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,748,000 after acquiring an additional 6,845 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Bio-Techne by 135.4% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 23,423 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,649,000 after purchasing an additional 13,474 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Bio-Techne in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $401,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 3.5% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 17,926 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,239,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 80.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,972 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $141,000 after acquiring an additional 879 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

NASDAQ:TECH traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $75.77. 553,479 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,021,818. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a current ratio of 4.56. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $73.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.97. Bio-Techne Co. has a fifty-two week low of $61.16 and a fifty-two week high of $85.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 1.28.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.04. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.76% and a net margin of 12.86%. The company had revenue of $289.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $280.22 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.35 earnings per share. Bio-Techne's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on TECH shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Bio-Techne from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised Bio-Techne from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Bio-Techne from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Bio-Techne from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.78.

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.