Prudential Financial Inc. Purchases 57,299 Shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 60.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 152,554 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 57,299 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.10% of Bio-Techne worth $10,988,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Bio-Techne during the third quarter valued at $43,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 19,153 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,531,000 after buying an additional 2,032 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Bio-Techne by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 6,883 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $550,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Bio-Techne during the third quarter valued at about $434,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.95% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Bio-Techne news, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the company'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 value of $1,035,067.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,004 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,014,619.16. This represents a 25.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of Bio-Techne stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at $130,336.96. This trade represents a 48.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

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Bio-Techne Price Performance

Shares of TECH traded up $0.48 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $57.83. 338,396 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,564,466. Bio-Techne Co. has a 12 month low of $56.60 and a 12 month high of $85.57. 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 stock has a market cap of $9.14 billion, a PE ratio of 58.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $65.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.21.

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%. Equities analysts expect that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TECH has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Bio-Techne from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average 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.