Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 261,900 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 1,843 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $20,934,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 922.5% during the second quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 409 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the period. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of TECH opened at $73.03 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.26, a current ratio of 4.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Bio-Techne Co. has a 52-week low of $61.16 and a 52-week high of $85.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $73.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.36. The company has a market capitalization of $11.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 1.27.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.04. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 12.76%. The company had revenue of $289.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $280.22 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. Bio-Techne’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TECH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on Bio-Techne from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.00.

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.