Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. Cuts Stake in Bio-Techne Corp (TECH)

Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. cut its position in Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH) by 4.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the period. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. owned about 0.18% of Bio-Techne Corp worth $8,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in TECH. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in Bio-Techne Corp by 14,548.6% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,500,436 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $355,820,000 after buying an additional 3,476,540 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Bio-Techne Corp by 4.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,005,690 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $305,528,000 after buying an additional 134,138 shares during the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its stake in Bio-Techne Corp by 18.4% in the first quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 1,900,495 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $193,185,000 after buying an additional 295,802 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Bio-Techne Corp by 2.6% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 989,661 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $100,590,000 after buying an additional 25,182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake in Bio-Techne Corp by 3.8% in the first quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 804,859 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $81,814,000 after buying an additional 29,600 shares during the last quarter. 99.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shares of Bio-Techne Corp (TECH) traded up 1.09% during trading on Wednesday, reaching $118.30. The company had a trading volume of 104,195 shares. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.43 and a beta of 0.79. Bio-Techne Corp has a 52-week low of $95.68 and a 52-week high of $121.94. The company has a 50 day moving average of $116.60 and a 200-day moving average of $109.30.

Bio-Techne Corp (NASDAQ:TECH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 8th. The biotechnology company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.10. Bio-Techne Corp had a return on equity of 14.18% and a net margin of 12.93%. The company had revenue of $156.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $150.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Bio-Techne Corp will post $3.99 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 18th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 16th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. Bio-Techne Corp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.98%.

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A number of brokerages recently weighed in on TECH. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Bio-Techne Corp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 6th. Deutsche Bank AG lifted their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne Corp from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. BidaskClub cut shares of Bio-Techne Corp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 16th. Citigroup Inc. restated a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price objective (up from $115.00) on shares of Bio-Techne Corp in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Bio-Techne Corp in a research note on Thursday, July 13th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.20.

In other Bio-Techne Corp news, Director Charles A. Dinarello sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.37, for a total value of $556,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,473 shares in the company, valued at $1,389,118.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 10,300 shares of company stock valued at $1,147,078 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

About Bio-Techne Corp

Bio-Techne Corporation develops, manufactures and sells biotechnology reagents and instruments for the research and clinical diagnostic markets. The Company operates through three segments: Biotechnology, Clinical Controls and Protein Platforms. The Biotechnology segment develops, manufactures and sells biotechnology research and diagnostic products, such as cytokines, growth factors, immunoassays, antibodies and related reagents, across the world.