Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) Price Target Raised to $76.00

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) had its price objective lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $70.00 to $76.00 in a research report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $70.00 price target on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up from $70.00) on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Wednesday. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $72.00 price target on shares of Bio-Techne and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.77.

Bio-Techne Stock Up 1.4%

TECH stock opened at $66.78 on Friday. Bio-Techne has a twelve month low of $46.01 and a twelve month high of $75.69. The company has a quick ratio of 3.08, a current ratio of 4.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market cap of $10.45 billion, a PE ratio of 130.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 1.48. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $63.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.44.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.03. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 13.94% and a net margin of 6.67%.The company had revenue of $295.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $290.20 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Bio-Techne by 349.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,115,133 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $284,555,000 after purchasing an additional 3,978,026 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 164.4% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,012,818 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $235,994,000 after buying an additional 2,495,328 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 7.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,946,028 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $219,518,000 after buying an additional 283,303 shares during the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its position in Bio-Techne by 32.3% during the 3rd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 3,307,116 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $183,975,000 after buying an additional 807,147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mairs & Power Inc. grew its holdings in Bio-Techne by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mairs & Power Inc. now owns 2,807,409 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $156,176,000 after acquiring an additional 91,031 shares during the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Bio-Techne

Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) is a global life sciences company that develops, manufactures and sells high-quality reagents, instruments and services for the research, diagnostic and bioprocessing markets. Its core product offerings include recombinant proteins, antibodies, immunoassays, nucleic acid probes and kits, single-cell analysis solutions and automated protein analysis systems. Flagship brands such as R&D Systems, Novus Biologicals, ProteinSimple and Advanced Cell Diagnostics provide researchers and clinicians with reliable tools for cell biology, immunology, proteomics and genomics applications.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Bio-Techne serves customers across North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region through a combination of direct sales, distributors and strategic partnerships.