Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday. The company traded as high as $72.93 and last traded at $72.78, with a volume of 415 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $72.78.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TECH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Bio-Techne from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Bio-Techne from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.92.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $72.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.38. The stock has a market cap of $11.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 3.35, a current ratio of 4.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44. The company had revenue of $299.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $292.60 million. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 13.23% and a net margin of 14.97%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This is a decrease from Bio-Techne’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. Bio-Techne’s payout ratio is presently 27.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TECH. Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Aberdeen Group plc grew its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 24.8% in the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 8,418 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $610,000 after acquiring an additional 1,672 shares during the period. First Trust Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,724,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $539,000. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in Bio-Techne by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 9,205 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $667,000 after purchasing an additional 891 shares in the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Bio-Techne