Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $11.97 Million Holdings in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its holdings in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 165,838 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 5,510 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $11,967,000 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 business. Cibc World Markets Corp grew its position in Bio-Techne by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 25,032 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,803,000 after acquiring an additional 3,631 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its position in Bio-Techne by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 860,751 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $62,000,000 after acquiring an additional 15,353 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in Bio-Techne by 317.7% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 136,243 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $9,814,000 after acquiring an additional 103,627 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in Bio-Techne by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 169,681 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $12,222,000 after acquiring an additional 11,625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van Strum & Towne Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 4,800 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

Bio-Techne stock opened at $60.61 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $68.15 and its 200 day moving average is $71.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 3.94 and a quick ratio of 2.77. The firm has a market cap of $9.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.30. Bio-Techne Co. has a one year low of $56.60 and a one year 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.03). Bio-Techne had a net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 12.73%. As a group, research analysts expect that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bio-Techne

In other Bio-Techne news, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.29, for a total value of $1,035,067.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,014,619.16. The trade was a 25.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total value of $122,685.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,336.96. This trade represents a 48.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TECH has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird cut Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.25.

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.