Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB Sells 17,000 Shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB cut its holdings in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 85.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 17,000 shares during the period. Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB's holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in TECH. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 46.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 530 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in Bio-Techne by 60.4% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 35.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 763 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 42.6% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,078 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in Bio-Techne by 1,355.6% during the 4th quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,048 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.95% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird downgraded Bio-Techne from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded Bio-Techne from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.25.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

TECH stock traded down $4.89 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $49.18. 912,909 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,164,569. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.95. The company has a quick ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Bio-Techne Co. has a twelve month low of $46.44 and a twelve month high of $85.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.45.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 13.22%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share 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 given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.32%.

Insider Transactions at Bio-Techne

In other news, 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 transaction of $122,685.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $130,336.96. This represents a 48.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of Bio-Techne 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,014,619.16. This trade represents a 25.56 % 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.

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.