Choreo LLC Raises Stock Position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Choreo LLC increased its stake in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,812 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the period. Choreo LLC’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $348,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Bio-Techne by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,395,993 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $511,232,000 after purchasing an additional 95,133 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $89,724,000. American Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Bio-Techne by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. American Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,114,393 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $89,073,000 after purchasing an additional 27,508 shares in the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Bio-Techne by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,104,310 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $88,267,000 after purchasing an additional 17,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in Bio-Techne by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 845,398 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $67,573,000 after acquiring an additional 17,296 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TECH opened at $66.77 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.61 billion, a PE ratio of 67.44, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $74.14 and a 200 day moving average of $74.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a current ratio of 3.94. Bio-Techne Co. has a one year low of $61.16 and a one year high of $85.57.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last issued 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne’s payout ratio is 32.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.57.

Insider Transactions at Bio-Techne

In other news, 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 transaction 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 $3,014,619.16. This represents a 25.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

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.