APG Asset Management US Inc. Acquires Shares of 3,278 Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

APG Asset Management US Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,278 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Bio-Techne by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 530 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew 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 buying an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Bio-Techne by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 763 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in Bio-Techne by 42.6% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,078 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 1,355.6% during the 4th quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,048 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 976 shares during the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Stock Up 10.8 %

TECH stock opened at $54.07 on Thursday. Bio-Techne Co. has a fifty-two week low of $46.44 and a fifty-two week high of $85.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $62.21 and a 200-day moving average of $69.95. The company has a market capitalization of $8.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.62, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a current ratio of 3.94.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last posted its quarterly 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, equities research analysts predict that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne’s payout ratio is currently 32.32%.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TECH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $88.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI started coverage on Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.25.

Bio-Techne 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.