Creative Planning Cuts Stock Position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Creative Planning lowered its position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 45.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,513 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 15,429 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning's holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $1,480,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. First City Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Bio-Techne by 6.2% in the first quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,185 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in Bio-Techne by 5.2% in the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,957 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Bio-Techne by 12.0% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,917 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in Bio-Techne by 51.5% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 612 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Bio-Techne by 2.3% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,164 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $715,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.95% of the company's stock.

Bio-Techne Stock Up 7.5 %

Shares of TECH stock traded up $5.28 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $76.02. 2,663,641 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,019,683. Bio-Techne Co. has a 1 year low of $51.79 and a 1 year high of $85.57. The company's 50 day moving average is $73.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.52. The company has a current ratio of 3.87, a quick ratio of 2.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market cap of $11.98 billion, a PE ratio of 59.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Bio-Techne's payout ratio is currently 25.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on TECH. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Bio-Techne from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.60.

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.