Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 13,954 Shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 33.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,260 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 13,954 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $2,179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in TECH. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Bio-Techne in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 922.5% in the second quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 409 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Bio-Techne during the second quarter worth about $31,000. DT Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Bio-Techne during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 1,427.8% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 550 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Scotiabank raised their target price on Bio-Techne from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Bio-Techne from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Bio-Techne from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.60.

Bio-Techne Trading Down 3.0 %

NASDAQ TECH opened at $73.75 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $11.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.53, a P/E/G ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 3.87 and a quick ratio of 2.75. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $73.64 and its 200-day moving average is $74.54. Bio-Techne Co. has a one year low of $51.79 and a one year high of $85.57.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 14.50%. The business had revenue of $306.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $306.49 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. Bio-Techne’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.40%.

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.