New York State Common Retirement Fund Boosts Stock Position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 544,058 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 22,145 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.34% of Bio-Techne worth $39,188,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Bio-Techne by 6.0% in the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 3,773 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Bio-Techne by 2.4% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 356,597 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $28,503,000 after purchasing an additional 8,457 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the third quarter valued at $218,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,895 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the third quarter valued at approximately $232,000. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

NASDAQ TECH traded down $0.57 on Friday, hitting $64.92. The stock had a trading volume of 1,973,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,342,740. Bio-Techne Co. has a 52-week low of $61.16 and a 52-week high of $85.57. The company has a market capitalization of $10.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.27. 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 moving average of $72.70 and a 200-day moving average of $73.43.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts expect that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on TECH shares. StockNews.com upgraded Bio-Techne from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Robert W. Baird cut Bio-Techne from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $84.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bio-Techne

In other Bio-Techne news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of Bio-Techne stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing 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 dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.29, for a total transaction 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 approximately $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 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.