Ownership Capital B.V. Has $65.32 Million Position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Ownership Capital B.V. reduced its position in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 906,813 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 67,835 shares during the period. Bio-Techne comprises 2.4% of Ownership Capital B.V.'s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Ownership Capital B.V. owned 0.57% of Bio-Techne worth $65,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Bio-Techne by 46.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 530 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Bio-Techne during the third quarter valued at $39,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Bio-Techne during the third quarter valued at $43,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in Bio-Techne by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 672 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Bio-Techne by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 763 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on TECH. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Bio-Techne from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $88.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bio-Techne has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $84.29.

Insider Activity at Bio-Techne

In other news, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,004 shares in the company, valued at $3,014,619.16. This represents a 25.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were 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 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.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of Bio-Techne stock traded down $0.57 during trading on Friday, hitting $64.92. 1,973,157 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,342,740. The stock's fifty day moving average is $72.70 and its 200 day moving average is $73.43. The stock has a market cap of $10.26 billion, a PE ratio of 65.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.27. 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 $61.16 and a 12 month high of $85.57.

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 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%. 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.32%.

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.