Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,400 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 23,100 shares during the period. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.'s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $2,670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Bio-Techne during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in Bio-Techne by 922.5% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 409 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the period. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Bio-Techne in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. DT Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Bio-Techne in the second quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Bio-Techne during the third quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors own 98.95% of the company's stock.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of TECH stock traded up $0.62 on Friday, hitting $74.51. 497,092 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,016,293. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.84 billion, a PE ratio of 79.27, a P/E/G ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 1.27. Bio-Techne Co. has a one year low of $61.16 and a one year high of $85.57. The company has a current ratio of 4.56, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm's 50 day moving average is $73.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.86.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $289.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $280.22 million. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 12.76%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.35 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Bio-Techne's payout ratio is currently 34.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Bio-Techne from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.78.

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.