Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Shares Sold by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers lowered its position in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 261,129 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 646 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.16% of Bio-Techne worth $18,809,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted 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 last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the third quarter worth $39,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 60.4% in 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. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 35.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 763 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

Shares of TECH opened at $64.92 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $72.70 and its 200-day moving average is $73.43. Bio-Techne Co. has a one year low of $61.16 and a one year high of $85.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a current ratio of 3.94.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne’s payout ratio is currently 32.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of Bio-Techne stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.29, for a total value of $1,035,067.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,014,619.16. The trade was a 25.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of Bio-Techne 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,336.96. This trade represents a 48.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on TECH shares. Baird R W cut shares of Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird downgraded Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Scotiabank raised their target price on Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bio-Techne presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.29.

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.