Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) Shares Sold by L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP

L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP reduced its stake in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,282 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 210 shares during the period. L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $2,021,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First City Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 6.2% in the first quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,185 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 5.2% during the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,957 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Bio-Techne by 12.0% in the second 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. increased its holdings in Bio-Techne by 51.5% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 612 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Bio-Techne by 6.0% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 3,773 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. 98.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

Bio-Techne stock traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $68.68. 681,327 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,008,777. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $73.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.45. The firm has a market cap of $10.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.51, a P/E/G ratio of 5.05 and a beta of 1.27. Bio-Techne Co. has a 1-year low of $51.79 and a 1-year high of $85.57. The company has a quick ratio of 2.75, a current ratio of 3.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.49. The firm had revenue of $306.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $306.49 million. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 14.50%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.56 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Bio-Techne from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.60.

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.