ING Groep NV Makes New $1.46 Million Investment in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

ING Groep NV bought a new stake in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 20,294 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,462,000.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $130,336.96. This trade represents a 48.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.29, for a total value of $1,035,067.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,014,619.16. The trade was a 25.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TECH has been the topic of several recent research reports. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note 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 increased their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Baird R W cut Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.29.

Bio-Techne Stock Down 0.9 %

TECH stock opened at $64.92 on Monday. Bio-Techne Co. has a one year low of $61.16 and a one year high of $85.57. The firm has a market cap of $10.26 billion, a PE ratio of 65.58, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $72.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.41. 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 posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 12.73%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.32%.

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.