Venturi Wealth Management LLC Has $99,000 Stake in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 45.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,376 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $99,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Bio-Techne by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 530 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 672 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of TECH stock opened at $64.92 on Monday. Bio-Techne Co. has a 52-week low of $61.16 and a 52-week high of $85.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a current ratio of 3.94. The stock has a market cap of $10.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.58, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $72.70 and its 200-day moving average is $73.41.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last posted 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,336.96. The trade was a 48.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,004 shares in the company, valued at $3,014,619.16. The trade was a 25.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on TECH. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird cut shares of Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $88.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Baird R W cut Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.29.

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.