Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Has $296,000 Position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,090 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 403 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $296,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in TECH. Stephens Inc. AR increased its position in Bio-Techne by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 7,012 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $560,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 12.2% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 11,349 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $907,000 after purchasing an additional 1,235 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the third quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Radnor Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $211,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Bio-Techne by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 261,900 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $20,934,000 after purchasing an additional 1,843 shares during the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Baird R W cut Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. KeyCorp raised 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. StockNews.com raised Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. 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 research note on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.14.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

Bio-Techne stock opened at $60.12 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $9.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.73, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50-day moving average of $71.46 and a 200-day moving average of $72.99. Bio-Techne Co. has a 1 year low of $58.98 and a 1 year high of $85.57.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total transaction of $122,685.60. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of Bio-Techne 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 directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.