Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Reduces Position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. reduced its position in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 4.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,295 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 1,421 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $2,470,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 22,825 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,693,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Bio-Techne during the first quarter worth approximately $393,000. Mirabella Financial Services LLP purchased a new stake in Bio-Techne during the first quarter worth approximately $1,287,000. Inceptionr LLC purchased a new stake in Bio-Techne during the first quarter worth approximately $2,056,000. Finally, Sands Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 1.5% in the first quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 747,354 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $55,446,000 after purchasing an additional 10,881 shares in the last quarter. 94.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Bio-Techne

In other Bio-Techne news, Director Roeland Nusse sold 8,939 shares of Bio-Techne stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.32, for a total transaction of $717,980.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 51,872 shares in the company, valued at $4,166,359.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Charles R. Kummeth sold 80,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.36, for a total value of $7,068,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,258,766 shares in the company, valued at $111,224,563.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Roeland Nusse sold 8,939 shares of Bio-Techne stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.32, for a total value of $717,980.48. Following the sale, the director now owns 51,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,166,359.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on TECH shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Friday, August 18th. William Blair assumed coverage on Bio-Techne in a research report on Monday, August 28th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.78.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

TECH stock opened at $75.51 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $11.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.84, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 4.84, a quick ratio of 3.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $81.93 and a 200-day moving average of $79.49. Bio-Techne Co. has a 12-month low of $68.00 and a 12-month high of $90.63.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 8th. The biotechnology company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $301.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $304.71 million. Bio-Techne had a return on equity of 15.47% and a net margin of 25.10%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 18th were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 17th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.16%.

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 worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Protein Sciences, and Diagnostics and Genomics. The Protein Sciences segment develops and manufactures biological reagents used in various aspects of life science research, diagnostics, and cell and gene therapy, such as cytokines and growth factors, antibodies, small molecules, tissue culture sera, and cell selection technologies.