Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $83.90.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on TECH shares. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Bio-Techne in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $85.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Roeland Nusse sold 10,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bio-Techne

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 27.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 33,630 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,258,000 after purchasing an additional 7,339 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter worth about $884,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter worth about $395,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,488 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DnB Asset Management AS grew its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 58,876 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,008,000 after purchasing an additional 2,368 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of TECH opened at $62.66 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $70.14 and its 200-day moving average is $68.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.41, a P/E/G ratio of 7.90 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 4.37 and a quick ratio of 3.03. Bio-Techne has a 12-month low of $51.79 and a 12-month high of $89.91.

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

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 26th. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.19%.

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.