OFI Invest Asset Management Takes Position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 15,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,036,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 1,427.8% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 550 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 57.9% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 521 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Bio-Techne during the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Bio-Techne during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. 98.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of TECH traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $74.52. 798,166 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,059,350. Bio-Techne Co. has a 12-month low of $51.79 and a 12-month high of $85.57. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.47. The company has a quick ratio of 2.75, a current ratio of 3.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market cap of $11.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 1.29.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.49. The business had revenue of $306.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $306.49 million. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 14.50%. Bio-Techne’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.8 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on TECH shares. Citigroup lowered shares of Bio-Techne from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Bio-Techne from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Bio-Techne from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.60.

Bio-Techne Company 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.