Marshall Wace LLP Has $109.68 Million Holdings in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Marshall Wace LLP decreased its position in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 13.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,522,693 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 240,101 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned 0.96% of Bio-Techne worth $109,680,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised 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 acquiring an additional 275,644 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,001,296 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $287,488,000 after purchasing an additional 98,660 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Bio-Techne by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,820,464 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $275,188,000 after purchasing an additional 358,756 shares during the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 3,581,778 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $257,995,000 after acquiring an additional 65,686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,040,840 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $147,002,000 after buying an additional 354,478 shares in the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

TECH stock traded up $1.04 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $48.55. The stock had a trading volume of 475,688 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,198,570. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 3.94, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.37. Bio-Techne Co. has a 52 week low of $46.01 and a 52 week high of $85.57.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.32%.

Insider Activity at Bio-Techne

In other Bio-Techne news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total transaction of $122,685.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,336.96. This trade represents a 48.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 39,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,014,619.16. This trade represents a 25.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TECH has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank raised their target price 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. Citigroup cut 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered Bio-Techne from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bio-Techne currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $81.14.

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.