Wendell David Associates Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Wendell David Associates Inc. lessened its holdings in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 21.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,600 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. Wendell David Associates Inc.’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the third quarter worth about $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Bio-Techne by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 530 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 51.5% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 612 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in Bio-Techne by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 672 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Trading Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ:TECH opened at $78.71 on Thursday. Bio-Techne Co. has a 1 year low of $61.16 and a 1 year high of $85.57. The business has a fifty day moving average of $73.94 and a 200-day moving average of $74.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a current ratio of 4.56. The stock has a market cap of $12.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.73, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 1.27.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.04. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.76% and a net margin of 12.86%. The firm had revenue of $289.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $280.22 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.35 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Bio-Techne’s payout ratio is currently 34.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Bio-Techne from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.00.

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.