Simplify Asset Management Inc. Buys 3,068 Shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Simplify Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) by 67.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,618 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,068 shares during the period. Simplify Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Bio-Techne were worth $609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Bio-Techne by 92.1% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,746,119 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $404,470,000 after acquiring an additional 2,755,065 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,862,260 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $205,081,000 after acquiring an additional 216,044 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Bio-Techne by 3.5% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,589,799 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $185,559,000 after purchasing an additional 88,257 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 20.4% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,714,994 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $122,879,000 after acquiring an additional 290,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneva Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Bio-Techne by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,104,310 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $88,267,000 after acquiring an additional 17,114 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TECH traded down $2.97 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $69.57. 383,077 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,010,709. Bio-Techne Co. has a 12 month low of $60.53 and a 12 month high of $85.57. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $74.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.37. The company has a quick ratio of 3.26, a current ratio of 4.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.05 billion, a PE ratio of 77.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 1.28.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $289.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $280.22 million. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 12.76%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Bio-Techne’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Bio-Techne from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Bio-Techne in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on Bio-Techne from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.78.

Bio-Techne Company 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.