Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stake in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 11.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 349,130 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 44,093 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $25,148,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 60.4% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 672 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 35.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 763 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its position in Bio-Techne by 42.6% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,078 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the period. Finally, Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. increased its stake in Bio-Techne by 1,355.6% during the fourth quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,048 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 976 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bio-Techne

In related news, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the company’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 value of $1,035,067.68. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,336.96. The trade was a 48.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Stock Up 3.0 %

Bio-Techne stock opened at $50.72 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.45. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.53. Bio-Techne Co. has a twelve month low of $46.44 and a twelve 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) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TECH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Baird R W cut shares of Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.25.

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.