Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its stake in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,501 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 940 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $828,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TECH. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Bio-Techne by 11.9% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 19,153 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,531,000 after buying an additional 2,032 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in Bio-Techne by 13.5% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 6,883 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter worth about $434,000. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Stock Up 1.0 %

TECH stock opened at $59.95 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $66.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.56. The company has a current ratio of 3.94, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $9.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30. Bio-Techne Co. has a 52 week low of $56.60 and a 52 week high of $85.57.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne’s payout ratio is currently 32.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. KeyCorp upped their target price on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird cut Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $88.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Baird R W lowered shares of Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bio-Techne news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $130,336.96. This represents a 48.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.