Proficio Capital Partners LLC Grows Stock Position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 13.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,367 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $243,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TECH. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 530 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Bio-Techne during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Bio-Techne by 60.4% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 672 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Bio-Techne by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 763 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of Bio-Techne stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.29, for a total value of $1,035,067.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,014,619.16. This trade represents a 25.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total value of $122,685.60. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on TECH shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com cut Bio-Techne from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.25.

Bio-Techne Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of TECH opened at $59.38 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $67.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.64. Bio-Techne Co. has a 12-month low of $56.60 and a 12-month high of $85.57. The company has a current ratio of 3.94, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm 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 (NASDAQ:TECH) last released 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 net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 12.73%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.32%.

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.