CIBC Asset Management Inc Raises Position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,173 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 1,214 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $1,741,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Bio-Techne during the 3rd quarter valued at $218,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bio-Techne by 8.4% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,895 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Bio-Techne during the third quarter valued at $232,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Bio-Techne in the 3rd quarter worth about $8,430,000. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its position in Bio-Techne by 33.1% in the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 39,432 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,152,000 after buying an additional 9,815 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Amy E. Herr sold 1,860 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.96, for a total value of $122,685.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $130,336.96. The trade was a 48.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kim Kelderman sold 13,392 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.29, for a total transaction of $1,035,067.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,014,619.16. This trade 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.

Bio-Techne Trading Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ:TECH opened at $64.92 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.27. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $72.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.43. Bio-Techne Co. has a one year low of $61.16 and a one year high of $85.57.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.03). Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 13.22%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on TECH. Baird R W downgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird cut shares of Bio-Techne from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $68.00 in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Bio-Techne from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Bio-Techne from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Bio-Techne from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bio-Techne presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.29.

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.