Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) Cut to Neutral at Citigroup

Citigroup cut shares of Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note published on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Citigroup currently has $85.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on TECH. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Bio-Techne in a report on Thursday, February 8th. They issued a sector outperform rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Stephens reduced their price objective on Bio-Techne from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Bio-Techne from $85.00 to $82.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Benchmark restated a buy rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $81.00.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

NASDAQ TECH opened at $80.79 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $12.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.12, a PEG ratio of 9.66 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 2.88 and a current ratio of 4.08. Bio-Techne has a 52-week low of $51.79 and a 52-week high of $89.91. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.69.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The biotechnology company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $303.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.36 million. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 13.60% and a net margin of 17.59%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.47 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bio-Techne news, Director Roeland Nusse sold 10,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.98, for a total transaction of $800,592.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 43,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,317,607.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 4.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in Bio-Techne by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 921 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 27,698 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Bio-Techne by 6.2% in the first quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,185 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 57.9% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 521 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Bio-Techne by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 13,220 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $931,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.