BNP Paribas Financial Markets Has $13.91 Million Stock Holdings in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lowered its position in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 23.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 174,080 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 52,235 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $13,914,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TECH. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in Bio-Techne by 922.5% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 409 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Bio-Techne in the second quarter worth $31,000. DT Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the second quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 1,427.8% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 550 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

Shares of TECH opened at $75.36 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $11.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 1.28. Bio-Techne Co. has a 1 year low of $61.16 and a 1 year high of $85.57. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $73.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.97. The company has a current ratio of 4.56, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $289.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $280.22 million. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 12.76%. Bio-Techne’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Bio-Techne’s payout ratio is presently 34.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on TECH. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Bio-Techne from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Bio-Techne from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.78.

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.