52,400 Shares in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Bought by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 52,400 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $3,774,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Bio-Techne by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 530 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in Bio-Techne by 60.4% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 672 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Bio-Techne by 35.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 763 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.95% of the company's stock.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

Bio-Techne stock traded down $1.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $58.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,505,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,111,228. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30. Bio-Techne Co. has a twelve month low of $56.60 and a twelve month high of $85.57. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $66.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.44. The company has a quick ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

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Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last issued its 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%. Research analysts forecast that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TECH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Bio-Techne from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Baird R W lowered shares of Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,004 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,014,619.16. The trade was a 25.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the firm's 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 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.

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.