SRS Capital Advisors Inc. Boosts Position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,893 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 786 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $1,149,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 1,116.2% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 403,148 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $31,107,000 after buying an additional 370,000 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,476,552 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $168,579,000 after purchasing an additional 300,903 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Bio-Techne by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,880,812 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $128,027,000 after purchasing an additional 241,771 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new position in Bio-Techne during the third quarter worth approximately $15,499,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in Bio-Techne by 9.4% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,329,033 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $154,881,000 after purchasing an additional 200,032 shares in the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Trading Up 3.6 %

NASDAQ:TECH traded up $2.66 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $76.12. The company had a trading volume of 1,116,583 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,098,535. Bio-Techne Co. has a 1 year low of $51.79 and a 1 year high of $89.91. The company has a current ratio of 4.37, a quick ratio of 3.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a 50-day moving average of $69.57 and a 200 day moving average of $68.44. The company has a market cap of $11.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.20, a P/E/G ratio of 7.87 and a beta of 1.23.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The biotechnology company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.03. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 19.58% and a return on equity of 14.21%. The firm had revenue of $303.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. Bio-Techne’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Roeland Nusse sold 10,400 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 43,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,317,607.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on TECH. Scotiabank began coverage on Bio-Techne in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $85.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Bio-Techne from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Stephens cut their price objective on Bio-Techne from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.50.

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.