Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Shares Sold by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lowered its position in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 174,080 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 52,235 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.11% of Bio-Techne worth $13,914,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Bio-Techne during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 922.5% during the second quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 409 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Bio-Techne during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Bio-Techne in the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Bio-Techne in the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

NASDAQ TECH traded up $0.66 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $76.02. The stock had a trading volume of 918,719 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,021,818. Bio-Techne Co. has a 52-week low of $61.16 and a 52-week high of $85.57. 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 stock has a market cap of $12.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $73.57 and a 200 day moving average of $74.97.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $289.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $280.22 million. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 12.76%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.35 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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