Sentry Investment Management LLC Buys New Shares in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH)

Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Bio-Techne Co. (NASDAQ:TECH) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 735 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Bio-Techne by 563.1% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 13,739 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $967,000 after acquiring an additional 11,667 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Bio-Techne by 20.2% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 200,662 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $14,125,000 after purchasing an additional 33,709 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Bio-Techne by 135.5% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 31,990 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,252,000 after purchasing an additional 18,404 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Bio-Techne during the 1st quarter valued at $569,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Bio-Techne by 20.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,714,994 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $122,879,000 after buying an additional 290,510 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.95% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Techne Price Performance

TECH stock opened at $77.62 on Wednesday. Bio-Techne Co. has a 52 week low of $55.63 and a 52 week high of $85.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.96. The company has a quick ratio of 3.26, a current ratio of 4.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.04. Bio-Techne had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 12.76%. The firm had revenue of $289.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $280.22 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Bio-Techne Co. will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bio-Techne Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. Bio-Techne’s payout ratio is presently 34.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Bio-Techne in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Bio-Techne from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Bio-Techne from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Bio-Techne from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Bio-Techne from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.78.

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.