New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 39,756 Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 39,756 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,864,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Bio-Techne in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 6,883 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $550,000 after buying an additional 820 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter worth about $434,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 22.9% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 34,735 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,776,000 after acquiring an additional 6,462 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on TECH shares. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered Bio-Techne from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.25.

Insider Transactions at Bio-Techne

In related news, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,004 shares in the company, valued at $3,014,619.16. This trade represents a 25.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total value of $122,685.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $130,336.96. This represents a 48.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of TECH stock opened at $58.73 on Friday. Bio-Techne Co. has a 12 month low of $56.60 and a 12 month high of $85.57. 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 market cap of $9.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.32, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $66.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.45.

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

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.54%. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.32%.

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.