Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Has $3.08 Million Stake in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 42,753 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,080 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $3,079,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Bio-Techne by 46.4% in the 4th 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 position in Bio-Techne during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 60.4% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 672 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Bio-Techne by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 763 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TECH opened at $63.39 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.81. The company has a market capitalization of $10.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.27. Bio-Techne Co. has a fifty-two week low of $58.98 and a fifty-two week high of $85.57. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TECH has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Baird R W lowered Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird cut shares of Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $88.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was 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 owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $130,336.96. This represents a 48.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of Bio-Techne stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.29, for a total transaction 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 approximately $3,014,619.16. This trade represents a 25.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

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.