Analysts Set Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Target Price at $82.14

Shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $82.14.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on TECH shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Baird R W downgraded Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

NASDAQ:TECH opened at $62.16 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $69.69 and a 200-day moving average of $72.35. The firm has a market cap of $9.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 3.94, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Bio-Techne has a twelve month low of $56.60 and a twelve month high of $85.57.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.03). Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 13.22%. Analysts forecast that Bio-Techne will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total transaction of $122,685.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $130,336.96. This trade represents a 48.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of Bio-Techne stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.29, for a total value of $1,035,067.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,014,619.16. This represents a 25.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bio-Techne

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 11,349 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $907,000 after purchasing an additional 1,235 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Bio-Techne by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 261,900 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $20,934,000 after acquiring an additional 1,843 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,794 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $943,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the period. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd now owns 323,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,817,000 after purchasing an additional 18,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jensen Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 5.2% during the third quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 54,760 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,377,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

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.