6,825,000 Shares in Bio-Techne Corp $TECH Purchased by HBK Investments L P

HBK Investments L P acquired a new stake in Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 6,825,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $482,186,000. Bio-Techne makes up about 4.7% of HBK Investments L P’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Bio-Techne in the second quarter worth $990,924,000. Maverick Capital Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 23.1% during the first quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 4,739,721 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $247,698,000 after acquiring an additional 888,798 shares during the period. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 131.4% during the first quarter. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. now owns 3,392,001 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $177,266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,926,066 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 40.3% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,398,265 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $141,042,000 after acquiring an additional 688,603 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 10.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,973,136 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $103,118,000 after acquiring an additional 178,843 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TECH traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $72.33. 3,650,077 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,345,552. The company has a market cap of $11.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.90, a PEG ratio of 8.60 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $72.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.81. Bio-Techne Corp has a 52 week low of $43.19 and a 52 week high of $72.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 4.55 and a quick ratio of 3.35.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52. The firm had revenue of $321.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $314.63 million. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 13.23%. Bio-Techne’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 24th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 24th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is an increase from Bio-Techne’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $62.00 to $73.00 in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Leerink Partners set a $73.00 price objective on Bio-Techne in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered Bio-Techne from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $73.00 in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.92.

About Bio-Techne

Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) is a global life sciences company that develops and supplies research, diagnostic and bioprocessing products. Its portfolio includes proteins, antibodies, immunoassays, molecular biology reagents, cell and gene therapy tools, and instruments used by academic, pharmaceutical, biotechnology and diagnostic laboratories.

The company operates through brands including R&D Systems, Novus Biologicals, ProteinSimple and Advanced Cell Diagnostics. Its products support applications such as protein analysis, spatial biology, single-cell research, biomarker discovery, drug development and the manufacture of cell and gene therapies.