Horizon Financial Services LLC Purchases Shares of 1,173 Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH)

Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,173 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. CX Institutional acquired a new position in Bio-Techne in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 976 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank boosted its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 42.6% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,078 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

NASDAQ TECH opened at $52.12 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $8.17 billion, a PE ratio of 63.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.58 and a current ratio of 3.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $49.77 and a 200-day moving average of $60.05. Bio-Techne Corp has a 52-week low of $46.01 and a 52-week high of $83.62.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.05. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 10.89% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The business had revenue of $316.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $317.92 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.48 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Corp will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.02%.

Bio-Techne declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the biotechnology company to purchase up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on TECH shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $75.00 to $60.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. UBS Group dropped their price target on Bio-Techne from $95.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Bio-Techne from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.00.

Bio-Techne 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.