Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Stock Position Increased by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 40.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 171,557 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 49,574 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.11% of Bio-Techne worth $12,357,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $89,724,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in Bio-Techne by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,040,840 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $147,002,000 after purchasing an additional 354,478 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $20,071,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in Bio-Techne by 4,392.8% during the 4th quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 123,013 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $8,861,000 after purchasing an additional 120,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Broadcrest Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Bio-Techne by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Broadcrest Asset Management LLC now owns 200,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $15,986,000 after purchasing an additional 100,000 shares in the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

NASDAQ:TECH traded up $0.51 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $65.80. 1,879,696 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,310,912. Bio-Techne Co. has a twelve month low of $61.16 and a twelve month high of $85.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 3.94 and a quick ratio of 2.77. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $73.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.73.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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, analysts expect that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS 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. Shareholders 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 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne's payout ratio is currently 32.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on TECH shares. Robert W. Baird lowered Bio-Techne from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $88.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Bio-Techne from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bio-Techne presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $84.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bio-Techne

In other Bio-Techne news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of Bio-Techne stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 1,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at $130,336.96. The trade was a 48.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of Bio-Techne stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were 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 $3,014,619.16. The trade was a 25.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.