Quantinno Capital Management LP Increases Stake in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 57.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 104,860 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,376 shares during the quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP owned 0.07% of Bio-Techne worth $7,553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position 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 during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Bio-Techne during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. GeoWealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Bio-Techne during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in Bio-Techne by 60.4% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 672 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Finally, Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. increased its position in Bio-Techne by 1,355.6% during the 4th quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,048 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares during the period. 98.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TECH has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $72.00 to $63.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Benchmark cut their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $95.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.44.

Bio-Techne Stock Up 0.8%

TECH stock opened at $48.24 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $53.65 and a 200 day moving average of $65.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.63 billion, a PE ratio of 48.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 3.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Bio-Techne Co. has a 52 week low of $46.01 and a 52 week high of $84.61.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $316.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $317.92 million. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 12.73%. Bio-Techne’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.48 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.02%.

Bio-Techne announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the biotechnology company to repurchase up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.