Natixis Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 169,681 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,625 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.11% of Bio-Techne worth $12,222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,395,993 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $511,232,000 after purchasing an additional 95,133 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in Bio-Techne by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,040,840 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $147,002,000 after acquiring an additional 354,478 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Bio-Techne by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,465,690 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $105,574,000 after acquiring an additional 51,687 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $89,724,000. Finally, American Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Bio-Techne by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. American Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,114,393 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $89,073,000 after acquiring an additional 27,508 shares during the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Bio-Techne Price Performance

TECH stock traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $60.61. 2,581,238 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,077,777. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $68.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.88. The stock has a market cap of $9.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.22, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30. Bio-Techne Co. has a fifty-two week low of $56.60 and a fifty-two week high of $85.57. 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 (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 13.22%. Research analysts predict that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TECH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Baird R W downgraded Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup reduced their price objective 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. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird cut 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 research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bio-Techne news, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was 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 approximately $3,014,619.16. This trade represents a 25.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a 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 on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total value of $122,685.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at $130,336.96. The trade was 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 company insiders.

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.