Hilton Capital Management LLC Has $2.19 Million Stake in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Hilton Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 23.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,414 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 5,745 shares during the period. Hilton Capital Management LLC's holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $2,191,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,395,993 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $511,232,000 after buying an additional 95,133 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in Bio-Techne by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,040,840 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $147,002,000 after acquiring an additional 354,478 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Bio-Techne by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,465,690 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $105,574,000 after acquiring an additional 51,687 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $89,724,000. Finally, American Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Bio-Techne by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. American Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,114,393 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $89,073,000 after acquiring an additional 27,508 shares during the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Remove Ads

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on TECH. KeyCorp increased their price target on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Bio-Techne from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Baird R W lowered Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bio-Techne presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.25.

Insider Transactions at Bio-Techne

In related news, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,004 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,014,619.16. This trade represents a 25.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at $130,336.96. The trade was a 48.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Bio-Techne Trading Up 0.4 %

TECH traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $62.83. The stock had a trading volume of 1,242,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,069,732. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a current ratio of 3.94. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $69.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.21. Bio-Techne Co. has a 52 week low of $56.60 and a 52 week high of $85.57.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.03). Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 13.22%. On average, equities analysts predict that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.