Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 717 Shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 6.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,794 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $943,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in Bio-Techne by 922.5% in the second quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 409 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Bio-Techne during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. DT Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Bio-Techne during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 1,427.8% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 550 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TECH opened at $75.96 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a current ratio of 4.56. The firm has a market cap of $12.07 billion, a PE ratio of 80.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.23. Bio-Techne Co. has a one year low of $55.63 and a one year high of $85.57.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.04. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.76% and a net margin of 12.86%. The business had revenue of $289.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $280.22 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.35 EPS. Bio-Techne’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued 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 is Friday, November 8th. Bio-Techne’s payout ratio is 34.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on TECH. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on Bio-Techne from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.78.

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.