Norges Bank Takes Position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,906,162 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $137,301,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.20% of Bio-Techne at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT lifted its stake in Bio-Techne by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 10,799 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $778,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 530 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,967 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $862,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 8,394 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $605,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 13,223 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,057,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.29, for a total transaction of $1,035,067.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,004 shares in the company, valued at $3,014,619.16. The trade was a 25.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were 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 $130,336.96. This represents a 48.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Trading Down 0.2 %

TECH opened at $58.63 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $66.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.33. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $56.60 and a 12 month high of $85.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.22, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird lowered Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $88.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 price objective on the stock. Baird R W lowered shares of Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.25.

Bio-Techne 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.