First Trust Advisors LP Sells 10,263 Shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

First Trust Advisors LP cut its stake in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 10.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 88,283 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 10,263 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.06% of Bio-Techne worth $6,359,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings 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 last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 672 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in 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 period. Finally, Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 1,355.6% during the 4th quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,048 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares during the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bio-Techne news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $130,336.96. The trade was a 48.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

NASDAQ TECH opened at $50.50 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.98 billion, a PE ratio of 51.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.45. Bio-Techne Co. has a 1 year low of $46.01 and a 1 year high of $85.57. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 3.94 and a quick ratio of 2.77.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last issued 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%. Analysts predict that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TECH has been the subject of several research reports. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Baird R W downgraded Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Bio-Techne in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Bio-Techne currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.14.

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.