Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Shares Sold by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI lowered its position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 74,300 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 6,136 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $5,352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 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 buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted 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 acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Bio-Techne by 35.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 763 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were 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 directly owns 39,004 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,014,619.16. This represents a 25.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at $130,336.96. This represents a 48.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on TECH. Citigroup decreased their price target on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Baird R W lowered Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut shares of Bio-Techne from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.25.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of Bio-Techne stock traded up $1.46 during trading on Friday, hitting $50.72. 3,195,460 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,181,026. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a current ratio of 3.94. Bio-Techne Co. has a 12 month low of $46.44 and a 12 month high of $85.57. The stock's fifty day moving average is $61.32 and its 200 day moving average is $69.59. The stock has a market cap of $8.02 billion, a PE ratio of 51.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.45.

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 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 0.63%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne's payout ratio is currently 32.32%.

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.