Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Shares Sold by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC lessened its position in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 16.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 801,625 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 159,594 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.50% of Bio-Techne worth $57,741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of TECH. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 46.6% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 16,650 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 5,295 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 58.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 43,298 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,119,000 after buying an additional 16,038 shares during the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in Bio-Techne in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,188,000. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 254,034 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $18,298,000 after acquiring an additional 25,650 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Bio-Techne by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 736,340 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $52,641,000 after purchasing an additional 79,629 shares in the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Bio-Techne in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. KeyCorp upped their price target on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Baird R W lowered Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.25.

Insider Transactions at Bio-Techne

In related news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the company'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 value of $122,685.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,336.96. This represents a 48.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.29, for a total value of $1,035,067.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,004 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,014,619.16. The trade was a 25.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

TECH stock traded down $3.52 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $54.86. The stock had a trading volume of 1,989,323 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,122,751. Bio-Techne Co. has a 52-week low of $54.83 and a 52-week high of $85.57. The company has a market cap of $8.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $65.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.12. The company has a current ratio of 3.94, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 13.22%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.32%.

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.