Prudential Financial Inc. Has $10.99 Million Position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 60.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 152,554 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 57,299 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $10,988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in TECH. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 530 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 60.4% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 672 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 35.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 763 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bio-Techne

In related news, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the firm’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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of Bio-Techne 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 $130,336.96. This represents a 48.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Stock Down 2.0 %

TECH opened at $58.73 on Friday. Bio-Techne Co. has a twelve month low of $56.60 and a twelve month high of $85.57. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $66.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.47. The stock has a market cap of $9.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.32, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

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

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on TECH. Scotiabank increased their price target on Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird cut shares of Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Bio-Techne from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bio-Techne presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.25.

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.