Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Shares Sold by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,552,562 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 28,240 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 1.61% of Bio-Techne worth $183,861,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in TECH. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT boosted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 10,799 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $778,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of 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. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,967 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $862,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Bio-Techne by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 8,394 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $605,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in Bio-Techne by 1.5% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 13,223 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,057,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.95% of the company's stock.

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Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TECH traded up $5.26 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $54.07. 4,371,436 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,165,302. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.95. Bio-Techne Co. has a 1-year low of $46.44 and a 1-year high of $85.57. The company has a quick ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $8.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.45.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.03). Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 13.22%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bio-Techne news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total transaction of $122,685.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,336.96. The trade was a 48.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,004 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,014,619.16. This 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 insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird lowered Bio-Techne from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.25.

Bio-Techne Company 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.