Bio-Techne Corp $TECH Stake Cut by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH) by 13.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,054,294 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 313,868 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $107,357,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 349.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,115,133 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $284,555,000 after acquiring an additional 3,978,026 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Bio-Techne by 164.4% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,012,818 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $235,994,000 after buying an additional 2,495,328 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Bio-Techne in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $99,494,000. Durable Capital Partners LP bought a new stake in Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter valued at $77,658,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Bio-Techne by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,345,414 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $490,794,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107,536 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Stock Up 0.2%

TECH stock traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $71.30. The company had a trading volume of 2,938,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,987,221. The company has a market capitalization of $11.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 103.33, a PEG ratio of 8.48 and a beta of 1.29. Bio-Techne Corp has a 1 year low of $43.19 and a 1 year high of $72.16. The company has a current ratio of 4.49, a quick ratio of 3.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a 50 day moving average of $55.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.94.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $311.42 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.11 million. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 9.05%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.56 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark lowered shares of Bio-Techne from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Stephens set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Bio-Techne and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Leerink Partners set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Bio-Techne from $49.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bio-Techne presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.08.

Bio-Techne Company 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.