21,170 Shares in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Acquired by Postrock Partners LLC

Postrock Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 21,170 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,525,000. Bio-Techne accounts for 0.7% of Postrock Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in TECH. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 46.6% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 16,650 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 5,295 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Bio-Techne by 58.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 43,298 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,119,000 after acquiring an additional 16,038 shares during the period. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the third quarter valued at about $1,188,000. Broadcrest Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 100.0% in the third quarter. Broadcrest Asset Management LLC now owns 200,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $15,986,000 after acquiring an additional 100,000 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the third quarter worth about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bio-Techne news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total value of $122,685.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at $130,336.96. This represents a 48.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of Bio-Techne stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.29, for a total transaction of $1,035,067.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,014,619.16. This represents a 25.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of TECH opened at $59.88 on Friday. Bio-Techne Co. has a twelve month low of $56.60 and a twelve month high of $85.57. The company has a current ratio of 3.94, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.43. The company has a market cap of $9.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) 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, analysts expect that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on TECH. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Baird R W cut Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $88.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bio-Techne currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.14.

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.