Van Strum & Towne Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Van Strum & Towne Inc. boosted its position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 20.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,800 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Van Strum & Towne Inc.’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $346,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Bio-Techne by 46.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 530 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the third quarter valued at about $43,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position 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 worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 38.5% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 756 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bio-Techne Stock Up 3.8 %

Bio-Techne stock opened at $62.16 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30. Bio-Techne Co. has a 1-year low of $56.60 and a 1-year high of $85.57. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.35. The company has a current ratio of 3.94, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.03). Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 13.22%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is 32.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Bio-Techne from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. KeyCorp increased their price target 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. Robert W. Baird downgraded Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.14.

Insider Transactions at Bio-Techne

In other news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of Bio-Techne stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total value of $122,685.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,336.96. The trade was a 48.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the firm’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 value of $1,035,067.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,004 shares in the company, valued at $3,014,619.16. This trade represents a 25.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Bio-Techne

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.