Neuberger Berman Group LLC Increases Position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,581,778 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 65,686 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned 2.25% of Bio-Techne worth $257,995,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in TECH. APG Asset Management US Inc. bought a new stake in Bio-Techne in the fourth quarter worth $236,000. APG Asset Management N.V. bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 4th quarter worth about $6,480,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,820,464 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $275,188,000 after buying an additional 358,756 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 146,717 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $10,571,000 after buying an additional 9,067 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aviva PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 1,546.4% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 95,063 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $6,847,000 after acquiring an additional 89,289 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.95% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,336.96. This represents a 48.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 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 $3,014,619.16. The trade was a 25.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on TECH. StockNews.com upgraded Bio-Techne from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird cut shares of Bio-Techne from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $88.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.25.

Bio-Techne Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:TECH traded down $1.68 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $50.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 495,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,182,799. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $60.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.34. Bio-Techne Co. has a 52 week low of $46.44 and a 52 week high of $85.57. The company has a market capitalization of $8.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 3.94 and a quick ratio of 2.77.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne's payout ratio is 24.24%.

Bio-Techne 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.