Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 354 Shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp decreased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 69,512 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 354 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $5,007,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT increased its stake in Bio-Techne by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 10,799 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $778,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased 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 valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,967 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $862,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Bio-Techne by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 8,394 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $605,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in Bio-Techne by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 13,223 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,057,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bio-Techne news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,336.96. This represents a 48.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,014,619.16. This trade represents a 25.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

Shares of TECH stock opened at $58.73 on Monday. Bio-Techne Co. has a 52 week low of $56.60 and a 52 week high of $85.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.28 billion, a PE ratio of 59.32, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a current ratio of 3.94. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $66.56 and its 200-day moving average is $71.44.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TECH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Baird R W downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. KeyCorp raised 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. Evercore ISI began coverage on Bio-Techne in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut Bio-Techne from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.25.

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.