William Blair Investment Management LLC Has $77.42 Million Stock Holdings in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

William Blair Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,074,883 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 35,352 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $77,424,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Bio-Techne in the third quarter worth $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Bio-Techne by 46.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 530 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the third quarter valued at about $43,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 672 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 38.5% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 756 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on TECH shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.14.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 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 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

NASDAQ TECH opened at $62.58 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $69.22 and its 200-day moving average is $72.21. Bio-Techne Co. has a 12-month low of $56.60 and a 12-month high of $85.57. The company has a quick ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $9.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.