Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Shares Acquired by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,465,690 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 51,687 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.92% of Bio-Techne worth $105,574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in TECH. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Bio-Techne during the third quarter worth $89,724,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position 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. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter worth $20,071,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 8,079.6% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 242,525 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $17,469,000 after buying an additional 239,560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in Bio-Techne by 4,392.8% in the 4th quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 123,013 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $8,861,000 after acquiring an additional 120,275 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.95% of the company's stock.

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Bio-Techne Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of TECH stock traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $58.96. 471,419 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,050,081. The stock has a market cap of $9.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.69, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.52. Bio-Techne Co. has a fifty-two week low of $56.66 and a fifty-two week high of $85.57. The company has a quick ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

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

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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. Scotiabank upped their target price 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. Baird R W cut Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird cut Bio-Techne from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Bio-Techne from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $82.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.29, for a total value of $1,035,067.68. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total transaction of $122,685.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $130,336.96. This represents a 48.49 % 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.

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.