Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Sells 53,585 Shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lessened its position in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 22.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 181,934 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 53,585 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS owned about 0.11% of Bio-Techne worth $13,105,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of TECH. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the third quarter worth about $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 530 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 60.4% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 672 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the third quarter worth $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.95% of the company's stock.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

NASDAQ:TECH traded down $0.57 on Friday, hitting $64.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,973,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,342,740. 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 Co. has a one year low of $61.16 and a one year high of $85.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $72.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.27.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.03). Bio-Techne had a net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 12.73%. Research analysts predict that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bio-Techne news, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.29, for a total transaction of $1,035,067.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,004 shares in the company, valued at $3,014,619.16. This trade represents a 25.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 approximately $130,336.96. This represents a 48.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TECH has been the topic of several recent research reports. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird cut Bio-Techne from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $88.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised Bio-Techne from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bio-Techne has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $84.29.

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.