Weitz Investment Management Inc. Increases Holdings in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Weitz Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 707.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 381,250 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 334,050 shares during the quarter. Bio-Techne accounts for 1.4% of Weitz Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Weitz Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $27,461,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in Bio-Techne by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 6,883 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the third quarter worth approximately $434,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 22.9% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 34,735 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,776,000 after buying an additional 6,462 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 2.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 754,344 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $60,295,000 after buying an additional 20,277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in Bio-Techne by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 6,830 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TECH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup cut their target price on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Bio-Techne in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird cut shares of Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $88.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. 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 note on Thursday, February 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.25.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TECH opened at $57.35 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $9.07 billion, a PE ratio of 57.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $65.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.21. Bio-Techne Co. has a twelve month low of $56.54 and a twelve month high of $85.57.

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

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bio-Techne

In other news, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of Bio-Techne stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.29, for a total transaction of $1,035,067.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,014,619.16. The trade was a 25.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 $130,336.96. This represents a 48.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.