Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Raises Position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 22.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 34,735 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 6,462 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $2,776,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in Bio-Techne by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,080 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Bio-Techne by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,333 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Bio-Techne by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,917 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in Bio-Techne by 51.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 612 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in Bio-Techne by 38.5% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 756 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of TECH stock opened at $75.05 on Wednesday. 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 market capitalization of $11.92 billion, a PE ratio of 79.84, a P/E/G ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $73.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.86.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.42 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 analysts’ expectations of $280.22 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on TECH. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.78.

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.