Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Shares Acquired by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 21.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,040,840 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 354,478 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 1.28% of Bio-Techne worth $147,002,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 58.8% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 43,298 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $3,119,000 after purchasing an additional 16,038 shares in the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,188,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Broadcrest Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Bio-Techne by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Broadcrest Asset Management LLC now owns 200,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $15,986,000 after acquiring an additional 100,000 shares during the period. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its holdings in Bio-Techne by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 254,034 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $18,298,000 after acquiring an additional 25,650 shares in the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Stock Down 2.3 %

NASDAQ:TECH traded down $1.58 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $68.34. The company had a trading volume of 2,067,368 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,256,177. Bio-Techne Co. has a 12-month low of $61.16 and a 12-month high of $85.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.03, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 3.94, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $74.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.15.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 12.73%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne's payout ratio is 32.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on TECH. KeyCorp raised their target price on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the firm'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 transaction 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 trade represents a 25.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 3.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.