Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Sells 44,600 Shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board decreased its position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 82.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 44,600 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $792,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of TECH. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Bio-Techne during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in Bio-Techne during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Bio-Techne by 305.0% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 324 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Bio-Techne during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in Bio-Techne during the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors own 94.64% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Trading Up 4.2 %

Bio-Techne stock opened at $63.59 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $64.89 and a 200 day moving average of $75.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.84, a P/E/G ratio of 5.17 and a beta of 1.22. Bio-Techne Co. has a 12-month low of $51.79 and a 12-month high of $89.91. The company has a current ratio of 4.63, a quick ratio of 3.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 31st. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.04). Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 21.57%. The business had revenue of $276.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $289.81 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 10th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 9th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Bio-Techne’s payout ratio is 21.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Friday, August 18th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $115.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 1st. William Blair started coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Monday, August 28th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $100.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $104.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bio-Techne news, Director Roeland Nusse sold 8,939 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.32, for a total value of $717,980.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 51,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,166,359.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 4.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.