Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Holdings Lifted by Two Sigma Investments LP

Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 2,900 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $2,773,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in Bio-Techne by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 32,573 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,346,000 after purchasing an additional 3,633 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 8,507 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $613,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Tema Etfs LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the 4th quarter worth about $427,000. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 60.9% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 85,010 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,123,000 after purchasing an additional 32,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. increased its stake in Bio-Techne by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 2,335,359 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $168,216,000 after acquiring an additional 495,404 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of Bio-Techne stock opened at $48.40 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.59 billion, a PE ratio of 48.89, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.46. Bio-Techne Co. has a 12 month low of $46.01 and a 12 month high of $83.62. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.67.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.05. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 13.22%. The firm had revenue of $316.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $317.92 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.48 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.02%.

Bio-Techne announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the biotechnology company to buy up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on TECH. Robert W. Baird lowered Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $88.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Bio-Techne in a report on Friday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $59.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Baird R W downgraded Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Bio-Techne from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.00.

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.