Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 6,832 Shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lowered its position in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,068,150 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 6,832 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.68% of Bio-Techne worth $82,418,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $119,771,000. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its position in Bio-Techne by 1,094.6% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 809,635 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $62,471,000 after buying an additional 741,860 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Bio-Techne by 1,389.4% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 784,543 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $60,535,000 after buying an additional 731,869 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in Bio-Techne by 1,116.2% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 403,148 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $31,107,000 after acquiring an additional 370,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 14.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,880,812 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $128,027,000 after acquiring an additional 241,771 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Bio-Techne

In related news, Director Roeland Nusse sold 10,400 shares of Bio-Techne stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.98, for a total value of $800,592.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 43,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,317,607.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 4.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

TECH stock opened at $82.68 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 2.88 and a current ratio of 4.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.62, a PEG ratio of 9.91 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $71.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.38. Bio-Techne Co. has a 52-week low of $51.79 and a 52-week high of $89.91.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The biotechnology company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $303.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.36 million. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 17.59% and a return on equity of 13.60%. Bio-Techne’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.47 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Bio-Techne’s payout ratio is 25.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TECH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup cut Bio-Techne from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Bio-Techne from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Thursday, February 8th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $85.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bio-Techne currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

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.