IFM Investors Pty Ltd Purchases 1,651 Shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 5.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,617 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,651 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $2,085,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brown Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Brown Capital Management LLC now owns 3,550,990 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $273,994,000 after purchasing an additional 392,986 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Bio-Techne by 4.5% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,305,826 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $225,028,000 after acquiring an additional 143,716 shares during the last quarter. Mairs & Power Inc. raised its stake in Bio-Techne by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Mairs & Power Inc. now owns 3,079,483 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $237,613,000 after acquiring an additional 25,903 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 13.8% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,476,552 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $168,579,000 after acquiring an additional 300,903 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,399,327 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $185,132,000 after acquiring an additional 70,294 shares during the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Trading Up 2.2 %

NASDAQ:TECH traded up $1.40 on Friday, reaching $64.06. 973,784 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 917,625. The company’s 50 day moving average is $69.82 and its 200-day moving average is $68.48. The company has a current ratio of 4.37, a quick ratio of 3.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Bio-Techne Co. has a 1-year low of $51.79 and a 1-year high of $89.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.80 and a beta of 1.22.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The biotechnology company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $272.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $277.48 million. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 19.58% and a return on equity of 14.21%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 26th. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. Bio-Techne’s payout ratio is 23.19%.

Insider Transactions at Bio-Techne

In related news, Director Roeland Nusse sold 10,400 shares of Bio-Techne stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.98, for a total transaction of $800,592.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 43,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,317,607.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 4.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TECH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $85.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Bio-Techne from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Bio-Techne from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Scotiabank began coverage on Bio-Techne in a report on Thursday, February 8th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stephens lowered their price objective on Bio-Techne from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bio-Techne has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.90.

About Bio-Techne

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.