Montanaro Asset Management Ltd Buys 9,500 Shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Montanaro Asset Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 332,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,500 shares during the period. Bio-Techne comprises approximately 4.9% of Montanaro Asset Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $23,950,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 11.9% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 19,153 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,531,000 after buying an additional 2,032 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Bio-Techne by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 6,883 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $550,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $434,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TECH opened at $59.38 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $67.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.64. The company has a market cap of $9.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30. Bio-Techne Co. has a 12-month low of $56.60 and a 12-month high of $85.57. 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 (NASDAQ:TECH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 EPS 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 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is 32.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $88.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Bio-Techne from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Baird R W lowered Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.25.

Insider Transactions at Bio-Techne

In related news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of Bio-Techne stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total value of $122,685.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at $130,336.96. This trade represents a 48.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $3,014,619.16. This represents 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.

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.