Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Shares Sold by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lowered its holdings in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 84.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,348 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 248,400 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $3,194,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the third quarter valued at $218,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter valued at about $8,430,000. IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its position in Bio-Techne by 33.1% in the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 39,432 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,152,000 after purchasing an additional 9,815 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 91.8% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,699 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 813 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 38.4% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 11,355 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $894,000 after purchasing an additional 3,148 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Bio-Techne

In related news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of Bio-Techne stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total value of $122,685.60. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,014,619.16. This represents a 25.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

NASDAQ:TECH opened at $65.56 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $72.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.36. Bio-Techne Co. has a 52-week low of $61.16 and a 52-week high of $85.57. The firm has a market cap of $10.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.22, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.27.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on TECH shares. KeyCorp increased their price objective 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 raised Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.29.

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.