Montanaro Asset Management Ltd Increases Position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Montanaro Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 332,500 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 9,500 shares during the period. Bio-Techne accounts for 4.9% of Montanaro Asset Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd owned 0.21% of Bio-Techne worth $23,950,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Bio-Techne during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 530 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the third quarter worth about $43,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in Bio-Techne by 60.4% during the 4th 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 period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings 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. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Bio-Techne Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:TECH traded down $0.44 during trading on Monday, reaching $58.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 331,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,108,199. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.22 billion, a PE ratio of 58.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30. Bio-Techne Co. has a 12 month low of $56.60 and a 12 month high of $85.57. The company has a current ratio of 3.94, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $66.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $71.44.

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

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne's payout ratio is 32.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on TECH. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Baird R W cut shares of Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bio-Techne

In other news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the company'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 transaction of $122,685.60. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.29, for a total value of $1,035,067.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,014,619.16. The trade was a 25.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

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.