E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 2,013 Shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 76.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,641 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,013 shares during the quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $334,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 46.6% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 16,650 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 5,295 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 58.8% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 43,298 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,119,000 after buying an additional 16,038 shares during the period. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,188,000. Broadcrest Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Broadcrest Asset Management LLC now owns 200,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $15,986,000 after buying an additional 100,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the third quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Bio-Techne

In related news, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total value of $122,685.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at $130,336.96. The trade was a 48.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TECH opened at $64.37 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.94, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Bio-Techne Co. has a 12 month low of $58.98 and a 12 month high of $85.57. The company has a market capitalization of $10.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.02, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $70.61 and its 200 day moving average is $72.67.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 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%. Research analysts predict that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. Bio-Techne’s payout ratio is 32.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on TECH shares. Scotiabank increased their target price on Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.14.

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.