JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Stake in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered its stake in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 30.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 525,100 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 231,084 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.33% of Bio-Techne worth $37,823,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 16,260 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,171,000 after acquiring an additional 2,263 shares in the last quarter. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd raised its holdings in Bio-Techne by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd now owns 332,500 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $23,950,000 after purchasing an additional 9,500 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Bio-Techne by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 251,865 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $18,585,000 after purchasing an additional 24,816 shares in the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP grew its holdings in Bio-Techne by 75.8% in the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 73,745 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $5,312,000 after purchasing an additional 31,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 28.3% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 38,728 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,790,000 after buying an additional 8,533 shares in the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of Bio-Techne stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $130,336.96. The trade was a 48.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 transaction of $1,035,067.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on TECH. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut shares of Bio-Techne from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Baird R W lowered Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Wednesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.25.

Bio-Techne Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of TECH stock traded up $1.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $50.72. 3,195,460 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,181,026. The stock has a market cap of $8.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.23, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.45. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $46.44 and a fifty-two week high of $85.57. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.59.

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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. Bio-Techne's payout ratio is 32.32%.

About Bio-Techne

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.