JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 280,782 Shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased its position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 27.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 756,184 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 280,782 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.48% of Bio-Techne worth $60,442,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Bio-Techne in the second quarter worth $25,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 922.5% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 409 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Bio-Techne in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. raised its position in Bio-Techne by 51.5% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 612 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.95% of the company's stock.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

NASDAQ:TECH traded up $2.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $73.79. 656,951 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 657,526. The company has a quick ratio of 3.26, a current ratio of 4.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $11.72 billion, a PE ratio of 78.50, a PEG ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 1.27. Bio-Techne Co. has a 12 month low of $61.16 and a 12 month high of $85.57. The company has a fifty day moving average of $73.72 and a 200 day moving average of $74.17.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.04. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 12.76%. The business had revenue of $289.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $280.22 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. Bio-Techne's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Bio-Techne's payout ratio is currently 34.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on TECH shares. StockNews.com raised Bio-Techne from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Bio-Techne from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Bio-Techne from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $82.00.

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.