Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Shares Acquired by Zions Bancorporation N.A.

Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 28.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,728 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 8,533 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $2,790,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the third quarter valued at approximately $89,724,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,479,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in Bio-Techne by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,040,840 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $147,002,000 after purchasing an additional 354,478 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Bio-Techne by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,594,608 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,339,370,000 after buying an additional 275,644 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Bio-Techne in the third quarter worth $20,071,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bio-Techne news, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.29, for a total transaction of $1,035,067.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,014,619.16. The trade was a 25.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total transaction of $122,685.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $130,336.96. This represents a 48.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

TECH opened at $59.98 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $67.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 3.94 and a quick ratio of 2.77. The company has a market capitalization of $9.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30. Bio-Techne Co. has a 1-year low of $56.60 and a 1-year high of $85.57.

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

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Baird R W downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird lowered Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bio-Techne currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.25.

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.