LPL Financial LLC Acquires 7,777 Shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 10.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 81,801 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,777 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.05% of Bio-Techne worth $6,037,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Bio-Techne by 46.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 530 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in Bio-Techne by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 672 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Bio-Techne by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 763 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Bio-Techne by 45.3% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,376 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 59.4% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,096 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.95% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup reduced their target price 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 raised Bio-Techne from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of Bio-Techne 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,336.96. This represents a 48.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

TECH stock traded up $1.46 during trading on Friday, reaching $50.72. 3,195,460 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,181,026. The company has a market capitalization of $8.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 3.94 and a quick ratio of 2.77. The company has a 50-day moving average of $61.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.59. Bio-Techne Co. has a twelve month low of $46.44 and a twelve month high of $85.57.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 EPS 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne's payout ratio is 24.24%.

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.