Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) Stake Raised by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) by 29.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,514 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 791 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Bruker were worth $206,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Bruker by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,287 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $779,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bruker by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,273 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Bruker by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 30,725 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,801,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Bruker by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,233 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Bruker by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 909 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BRKR. Barclays reduced their price target on Bruker from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Bruker from $70.00 to $57.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Bruker from $75.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Bruker in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Bruker from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.00.

Bruker Stock Performance

BRKR opened at $36.28 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $5.50 billion, a PE ratio of 47.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.18. Bruker Co. has a 1 year low of $34.10 and a 1 year high of $83.32. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.01. Bruker had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 21.01%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bruker Co. will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

About Bruker

Bruker Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and distributes scientific instruments, and analytical and diagnostic solutions in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Bruker Scientific Instruments (BSI) BioSpin, BSI CALID, BSI Nano, and Bruker Energy & Supercon Technologies.