SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. Makes New $889,000 Investment in Bio-Techne Corp $TECH

SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. acquired a new position in Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 15,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $889,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 5,752 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $341,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 6,052 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 28.4% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 786 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 5,351 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 3.4% in the third quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,703 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on TECH shares. Robert W. Baird set a $49.00 price objective on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $79.00 price target (up from $70.00) on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $76.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.92.

Bio-Techne Stock Up 1.7%

TECH opened at $51.68 on Friday. Bio-Techne Corp has a twelve month low of $43.19 and a twelve month high of $72.16. The company has a quick ratio of 3.18, a current ratio of 4.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $52.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.87. The company has a market cap of $8.09 billion, a PE ratio of 74.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 1.41.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.02). Bio-Techne had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 13.57%. The business had revenue of $311.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.11 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.38%.

Bio-Techne Profile

Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) is a global life sciences company that develops, manufactures and sells high-quality reagents, instruments and services for the research, diagnostic and bioprocessing markets. Its core product offerings include recombinant proteins, antibodies, immunoassays, nucleic acid probes and kits, single-cell analysis solutions and automated protein analysis systems. Flagship brands such as R&D Systems, Novus Biologicals, ProteinSimple and Advanced Cell Diagnostics provide researchers and clinicians with reliable tools for cell biology, immunology, proteomics and genomics applications.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Bio-Techne serves customers across North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region through a combination of direct sales, distributors and strategic partnerships.