Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Stock Holdings Decreased by Leavell Investment Management Inc.

Leavell Investment Management Inc. lessened its position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,357 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 800 shares during the quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $3,483,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter valued at about $89,724,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in Bio-Techne by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,040,840 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $147,002,000 after purchasing an additional 354,478 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $20,071,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position in Bio-Techne by 4,392.8% in the 4th quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 123,013 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $8,861,000 after buying an additional 120,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Broadcrest Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Broadcrest Asset Management LLC now owns 200,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $15,986,000 after buying an additional 100,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TECH has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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 note on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Bio-Techne from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Scotiabank raised their price target 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. StockNews.com raised Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.57.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

TECH opened at $67.44 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $74.14 and a 200-day moving average of $74.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a current ratio of 3.94. Bio-Techne Co. has a 52-week low of $61.16 and a 52-week high of $85.57. The company has a market cap of $10.72 billion, a PE ratio of 68.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 1.27.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. Bio-Techne’s payout ratio is presently 32.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was 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 directly owns 39,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,014,619.16. This trade represents a 25.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Company 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.