Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Shares Sold by Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB

Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB lowered its position in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 85.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 17,000 shares during the quarter. Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in TECH. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the fourth quarter worth about $137,301,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Bio-Techne during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,479,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,040,840 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $147,002,000 after acquiring an additional 354,478 shares during the last quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 707.7% in the fourth quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 381,250 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $27,461,000 after acquiring an additional 334,050 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,594,608 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,339,370,000 after purchasing an additional 275,644 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Stock Down 5.7 %

TECH opened at $51.72 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Bio-Techne Co. has a twelve month low of $50.35 and a twelve month high of $85.57. The company has a market cap of $8.18 billion, a PE ratio of 52.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $64.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.85.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 13.22%. Sell-side analysts expect that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 Bio-Techne 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 transaction, the director now owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,336.96. This trade represents a 48.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 39,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,014,619.16. The trade was a 25.56 % 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 company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on TECH shares. Robert W. Baird downgraded Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Baird R W lowered Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com raised Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.25.

Bio-Techne 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.