Bank of Montreal Can Trims Stock Position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Bank of Montreal Can cut its holdings in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 194,356 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 11,197 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned approximately 0.12% of Bio-Techne worth $13,999,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Bio-Techne by 46.6% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 16,650 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,215,000 after buying an additional 5,295 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Bio-Techne by 58.8% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 43,298 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,119,000 after purchasing an additional 16,038 shares in the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,188,000. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 254,034 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $18,298,000 after purchasing an additional 25,650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 736,340 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $52,641,000 after purchasing an additional 79,629 shares during the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Bio-Techne stock opened at $50.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 3.94 and a quick ratio of 2.77. Bio-Techne Co. has a 12 month low of $46.44 and a 12 month high of $85.57. The company has a market cap of $8.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $61.32 and its 200-day moving average is $69.59.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.03). Bio-Techne had a net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 12.73%. Equities analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Bio-Techne’s payout ratio is currently 24.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on TECH. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird downgraded Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Baird R W cut Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.25.

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.