Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.32

Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH – Get Rating) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, August 5th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 15th will be given a dividend of 0.32 per share by the biotechnology company on Monday, August 29th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 12th.

Bio-Techne has a dividend payout ratio of 13.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Bio-Techne to earn $8.35 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.28 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.3%.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TECH traded down $7.75 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $383.15. 5,725 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 196,437. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.79 and a current ratio of 3.56. Bio-Techne has a 52 week low of $318.07 and a 52 week high of $543.85. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $357.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $386.25.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 4th. The biotechnology company reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.16. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 16.82% and a net margin of 20.95%. The company had revenue of $288.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $287.04 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Bio-Techne will post 7.08 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TECH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Bio-Techne from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $400.00 to $370.00 in a research note on Monday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Bio-Techne from $500.00 to $470.00 in a research note on Friday. Stephens decreased their price target on Bio-Techne from $500.00 to $480.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price target on Bio-Techne from $600.00 to $500.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Bio-Techne has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $496.43.

Insider Activity at Bio-Techne

In related news, CEO Charles R. Kummeth sold 5,104 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $1,862,960.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 198,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,393,370. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Charles R. Kummeth sold 5,104 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $1,862,960.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 198,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,393,370. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert V. Baumgartner acquired 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $352.55 per share, for a total transaction of $105,765.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,106 shares in the company, valued at $3,562,870.30. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TECH. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 11,267.9% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 287,268 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $124,399,000 after buying an additional 284,741 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 28.6% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 456,934 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $197,870,000 after buying an additional 101,567 shares during the period. Mariner LLC acquired a new position in Bio-Techne during the 1st quarter worth about $13,357,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 251.1% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 32,300 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $13,987,000 after acquiring an additional 23,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,445,265 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,924,978,000 after acquiring an additional 18,627 shares in the last quarter. 94.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bio-Techne Company Profile

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Bio-Techne Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and sells life science reagents, instruments, and services for the research, and diagnostics and bioprocessing markets worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Protein Sciences, and Diagnostics and Genomics. The Protein Sciences segment provides biological reagents used in various aspects of life science research, diagnostics, and cell and gene therapy, such as cytokines and growth factors, antibodies, small molecules, tissue culture sera, and cell selection technologies.