Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Stake Cut by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 30.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,713 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 2,885 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $518,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Bio-Techne in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in Bio-Techne in the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Clear Street Markets LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 255.8% during the third quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 733 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 921 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Bio-Techne

In related news, Director Roeland Nusse sold 10,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.98, for a total transaction of $800,592.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 43,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,317,607.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on TECH shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Bio-Techne from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $85.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stephens cut their price target on Bio-Techne from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.90.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TECH opened at $62.80 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.51, a PEG ratio of 7.73 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 4.37 and a quick ratio of 3.03. Bio-Techne Co. has a 12 month low of $51.79 and a 12 month high of $89.91. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $70.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.61.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The biotechnology company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.03). Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 14.21% and a net margin of 19.58%. The firm had revenue of $272.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $277.48 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.19%.

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.