Bank of America Corp DE Sells 303,523 Shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Bank of America Corp DE decreased its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 37.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 516,549 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 303,523 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.33% of Bio-Techne worth $37,207,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 672 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of TECH stock opened at $48.24 on Friday. Bio-Techne Co. has a 12-month low of $46.01 and a 12-month high of $84.61. The company has a current ratio of 3.94, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $53.65 and its 200 day moving average is $65.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.46.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.05. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 12.73%. The company had revenue of $316.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $317.92 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.48 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 7th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the biotechnology company to purchase up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on TECH shares. Citigroup cut 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. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird cut shares of Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $88.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Baird R W cut shares of Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.44.

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.