Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Shares Sold by Eversept Partners LP

Eversept Partners LP decreased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 54.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 299,310 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 364,263 shares during the quarter. Bio-Techne makes up 1.9% of Eversept Partners LP's portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Eversept Partners LP owned 0.19% of Bio-Techne worth $21,559,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Bio-Techne by 46.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 530 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in Bio-Techne by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 672 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Bio-Techne by 35.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 763 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 42.6% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,078 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Bio-Techne

In other Bio-Techne news, 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 transaction 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. This represents a 25.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 value of $122,685.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at $130,336.96. The trade was a 48.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Baird R W lowered shares of Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird lowered Bio-Techne from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $81.14.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Bio-Techne stock traded up $0.62 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $50.78. The company had a trading volume of 2,472,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,214,618. The company's fifty day moving average is $57.72 and its 200-day moving average is $67.95. Bio-Techne Co. has a 12-month low of $46.01 and a 12-month high of $85.57. The company has a market capitalization of $8.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.29, 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.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.32%.

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.