Hahn Capital Management LLC Boosts Position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Hahn Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 66.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 74,563 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 29,854 shares during the period. Bio-Techne makes up about 2.4% of Hahn Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Hahn Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $5,371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Bio-Techne by 8,079.6% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 242,525 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $17,469,000 after buying an additional 239,560 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Bio-Techne in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT raised its holdings in Bio-Techne by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 10,799 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $778,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. ING Groep NV purchased a new position in Bio-Techne in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,462,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Bio-Techne by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 544,058 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $39,188,000 after buying an additional 22,145 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.29, for a total transaction of $1,035,067.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,014,619.16. The trade was a 25.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total transaction of $122,685.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on TECH shares. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Baird R W lowered shares of Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted 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 note on Thursday, February 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bio-Techne has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.29.

Bio-Techne Stock Down 4.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:TECH opened at $61.23 on Friday. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.24. The firm has a market cap of $9.68 billion, a PE ratio of 61.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.27. Bio-Techne Co. has a 12-month low of $61.06 and a 12-month high of $85.57.

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

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.32%.

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.