Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) Shares Gap Up Following Dividend Announcement

Shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock had previously closed at $70.74, but opened at $74.00. Bio-Techne shares last traded at $78.07, with a volume of 455,683 shares.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on TECH shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.60.

Bio-Techne Trading Up 7.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 3.87 and a quick ratio of 2.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.64, a P/E/G ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 1.27. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $73.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.52.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 14.50%. The firm had revenue of $306.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $306.49 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bio-Techne

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Bio-Techne during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in Bio-Techne by 922.5% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 409 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Bio-Techne during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. DT Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Bio-Techne in the second quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 1,427.8% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 550 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.