Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. Grows Position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH - Free Report) by 40.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,990 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,850 shares during the quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $1,728,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of TECH. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position 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 last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 60.4% in 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 period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on TECH. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Baird R W lowered Bio-Techne from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Bio-Techne from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.25.

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Bio-Techne Price Performance

Shares of TECH stock traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $61.07. The stock had a trading volume of 1,121,505 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,077,952. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $67.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.65 billion, a PE ratio of 61.69, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30. Bio-Techne Co. has a 12 month low of $56.60 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 issued 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 return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 13.22%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bio-Techne

In related news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total transaction of $122,685.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $130,336.96. This trade represents a 48.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the business's 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,004 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,014,619.16. This represents a 25.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.90% of the stock is currently 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.