Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Stake Boosted by Simplify Asset Management Inc.

Simplify Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 67.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,618 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,068 shares during the period. Simplify Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its position in Bio-Techne by 922.5% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 409 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Bio-Techne during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. DT Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Bio-Techne in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 1,427.8% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 550 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of TECH stock traded down $2.97 during trading on Friday, reaching $69.57. The company had a trading volume of 383,077 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,010,709. The company has a market capitalization of $11.05 billion, a PE ratio of 77.17, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 4.56 and a quick ratio of 3.26. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.37. Bio-Techne Co. has a one year low of $60.53 and a one year high of $85.57.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $289.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $280.22 million. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.76% and a net margin of 12.86%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Bio-Techne’s payout ratio is currently 34.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Bio-Techne from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Bio-Techne from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bio-Techne presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.78.

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.