Everence Capital Management Inc. Sells 3,330 Shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Everence Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 31.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,100 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 3,330 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $548,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TECH. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new stake in Bio-Techne during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in Bio-Techne by 305.0% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 324 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Bio-Techne in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Bio-Techne in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Bio-Techne by 447.5% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 553 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

NASDAQ:TECH opened at $62.73 on Thursday. Bio-Techne Co. has a 52 week low of $51.79 and a 52 week high of $89.91. The company has a quick ratio of 3.03, a current ratio of 4.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $9.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.46, a P/E/G ratio of 7.24 and a beta of 1.22. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $70.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.70.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The biotechnology company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.03). Bio-Techne had a net margin of 19.58% and a return on equity of 14.21%. The business had revenue of $272.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $277.48 million. Equities analysts expect that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.53 EPS for the current year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on TECH. Scotiabank began coverage on Bio-Techne in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. Stephens decreased their price target on Bio-Techne from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Bio-Techne from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut Bio-Techne from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bio-Techne

In other Bio-Techne news, Director Roeland Nusse sold 10,400 shares of Bio-Techne stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.98, for a total value of $800,592.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 43,097 shares in the company, valued at $3,317,607.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.45% of the company’s stock.

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.