Ownership Capital B.V. Sells 67,835 Shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Ownership Capital B.V. decreased its holdings in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 906,813 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 67,835 shares during the period. Bio-Techne makes up about 2.4% of Ownership Capital B.V.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Ownership Capital B.V. owned about 0.57% of Bio-Techne worth $65,318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in Bio-Techne by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 544,058 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $39,188,000 after acquiring an additional 22,145 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Bio-Techne by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,376 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Bio-Techne by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 24,173 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,214 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Bio-Techne by 40.6% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 171,557 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $12,357,000 after buying an additional 49,574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 736,340 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $52,641,000 after buying an additional 79,629 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bio-Techne news, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of Bio-Techne stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.29, for a total transaction of $1,035,067.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,014,619.16. This trade represents a 25.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total value of $122,685.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,336.96. This represents a 48.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of TECH stock opened at $65.80 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $10.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.46, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.27. Bio-Techne Co. has a fifty-two week low of $61.16 and a fifty-two week high of $85.57. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a current ratio of 3.94.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.03). Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 13.22%. Research analysts forecast that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne’s payout ratio is currently 32.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on TECH. Robert W. Baird downgraded Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $88.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bio-Techne has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.29.

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.