Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Shares Sold by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lowered its stake in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 46.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,229 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 4,462 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $377,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 46.4% during 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 period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in Bio-Techne by 60.4% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 672 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Bio-Techne by 35.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 763 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.95% of the company's stock.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

TECH stock traded down $0.57 on Friday, hitting $64.92. The company had a trading volume of 1,973,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,342,740. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $72.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.52. The stock has a market cap of $10.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.27. Bio-Techne Co. has a 12-month low of $61.16 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.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Bio-Techne's payout ratio is currently 32.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Baird R W lowered Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. 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. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird cut shares of Bio-Techne from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $88.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $84.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total value of $122,685.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,336.96. The trade was a 48.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.29, for a total transaction 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 approximately $3,014,619.16. This represents a 25.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

Bio-Techne Company 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.