39,756 Shares in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Acquired by New Age Alpha Advisors LLC

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 39,756 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $2,864,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,594,608 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,339,370,000 after buying an additional 275,644 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Bio-Techne by 1.5% in the third 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 period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 21.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 354,478 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the 4th quarter valued at $137,301,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $105,574,000 after purchasing an additional 51,687 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.95% of the company's stock.

Bio-Techne Stock Down 5.1 %

NASDAQ:TECH traded down $2.97 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $55.41. The stock had a trading volume of 388,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,562,801. Bio-Techne Co. has a twelve month low of $55.25 and a twelve month high of $85.57. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.12. The company has a current ratio of 3.94, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $8.76 billion, a PE ratio of 55.97, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30.

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Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.03). Bio-Techne had a net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 12.73%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.32%.

Insider Transactions at Bio-Techne

In related news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at $130,336.96. This represents a 48.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,014,619.16. The trade was a 25.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on TECH. Baird R W lowered shares of Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $88.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.25.

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.