Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Increases Stake in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,441 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 899 shares during the quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $2,195,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in Bio-Techne by 27.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 33,630 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,258,000 after acquiring an additional 7,339 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,488 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 13,884 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $945,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,985,000. 98.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Roeland Nusse sold 10,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.98, for a total value of $800,592.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 43,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,317,607.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:TECH traded up $0.89 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $63.69. The company had a trading volume of 816,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,062,582. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 4.37 and a quick ratio of 3.03. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $70.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.51, a PEG ratio of 7.73 and a beta of 1.22. Bio-Techne Co. has a one year low of $51.79 and a one year high of $89.91.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The biotechnology company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.03). Bio-Techne had a net margin of 19.58% and a return on equity of 14.21%. The business had revenue of $272.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $277.48 million. Equities research analysts expect that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on TECH. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Bio-Techne from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Thursday, February 8th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $85.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.90.

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.