Sit Investment Associates Inc. Decreases Stake in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Sit Investment Associates Inc. lessened its holdings in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 20.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 44,150 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 11,200 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc.'s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $3,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in TECH. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings 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 worth $48,000 after buying an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Bio-Techne by 35.0% in 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 last quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 976 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 42.6% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,078 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.95% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling 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 shares were sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total value of $122,685.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,336.96. This represents a 48.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,004 shares in the company, valued at $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 analysts have recently commented on TECH shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Baird R W lowered shares of Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.25.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Bio-Techne stock traded up $1.46 during trading on Friday, hitting $50.72. The stock had a trading volume of 3,195,460 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,181,026. The company has a quick ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock's 50 day moving average is $61.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.59. Bio-Techne Co. has a 1 year low of $46.44 and a 1 year high of $85.57. The stock has a market cap of $8.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.45.

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 the consensus estimate 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, analysts predict that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. Bio-Techne's payout ratio is 24.24%.

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.