Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Receives $83.90 Average Price Target from Analysts

Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $83.90.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on TECH shares. Stephens decreased their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $85.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

NASDAQ TECH opened at $62.12 on Friday. Bio-Techne has a 52-week low of $51.79 and a 52-week high of $89.91. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 3.03 and a current ratio of 4.37. The company has a market capitalization of $9.76 billion, a PE ratio of 45.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.04 and a beta of 1.22.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The biotechnology company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.03). Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 14.21% and a net margin of 19.58%. The company had revenue of $272.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $277.48 million. On average, research analysts predict that Bio-Techne will post 1.52 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 26th. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.19%.

Insider Activity at Bio-Techne

In other Bio-Techne news, Director Roeland Nusse sold 10,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.98, for a total value of $800,592.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,097 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,317,607.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 4.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Bio-Techne by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. now owns 737 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC now owns 575 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Toroso Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 1,266 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $360,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund increased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 1,406 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pearl River Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Pearl River Capital LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $574,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.