Ownership Capital B.V. Sells 208,493 Shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Ownership Capital B.V. lowered its stake in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 17.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 974,648 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 208,493 shares during the period. Bio-Techne makes up 2.5% of Ownership Capital B.V.'s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Ownership Capital B.V. owned approximately 0.61% of Bio-Techne worth $77,904,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 29.1% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 10,031 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $706,000 after acquiring an additional 2,259 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,164 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $715,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 2.4% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 32,493 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,287,000 after acquiring an additional 757 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 5.2% in the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,957 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 18.4% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 32,088 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,259,000 after purchasing an additional 4,989 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on TECH. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Bio-Techne from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Bio-Techne from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.78.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

TECH stock traded down $0.38 during trading on Friday, reaching $75.96. 649,382 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 950,884. The company has a market cap of $12.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.81, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 1.28. Bio-Techne Co. has a 52-week low of $55.63 and a 52-week high of $85.57. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $74.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a current ratio of 4.56.

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

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.04%.

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.