Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Stake Lessened by Ashford Capital Management Inc.

Ashford Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 9.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,960 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 2,270 shares during the period. Ashford Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $1,675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of TECH. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Bio-Techne in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its stake in Bio-Techne by 922.5% during the second quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 409 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Bio-Techne during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. DT Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Bio-Techne in the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Bio-Techne in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on TECH shares. StockNews.com upgraded Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Bio-Techne from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.00.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of TECH stock opened at $77.40 on Tuesday. Bio-Techne Co. has a fifty-two week low of $61.16 and a fifty-two week high of $85.57. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $73.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 4.56 and a quick ratio of 3.26. The firm has a market cap of $12.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.34, a PEG ratio of 5.44 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $289.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $280.22 million. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.76% and a net margin of 12.86%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.35 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.04%.

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.