Metis Global Partners LLC Buys 226 Shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,647 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $531,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its stake in Bio-Techne by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 30,195 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,413,000 after buying an additional 4,450 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 38.5% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 756 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 41.7% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 19,043 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,522,000 after acquiring an additional 5,601 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 1.6% in the third quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,104,310 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $88,267,000 after purchasing an additional 17,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 32.8% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 22,891 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,802,000 after purchasing an additional 5,659 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

NASDAQ TECH opened at $66.86 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.13, a P/E/G ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a current ratio of 4.56. Bio-Techne Co. has a 52-week low of $61.11 and a 52-week high of $85.57. The company has a fifty day moving average of $74.23 and a 200-day moving average of $75.49.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $289.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $280.22 million. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.76% and a net margin of 12.86%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Bio-Techne’s payout ratio is 34.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on TECH shares. 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 research note on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.78.

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.