Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $74.45.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BRKR. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Bruker from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wolfe Research cut Bruker from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Bruker from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Bruker from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Bruker from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th.

Bruker Stock Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ BRKR opened at $58.62 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $57.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.07. Bruker has a one year low of $48.07 and a one year high of $94.86. The company has a market capitalization of $8.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $864.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $866.46 million. Bruker had a return on equity of 21.52% and a net margin of 9.41%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Bruker will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Frank H. Laukien bought 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $50.14 per share, with a total value of $5,014,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 38,439,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,927,359,688.82. This trade represents a 0.26 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 28.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bruker

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC grew its position in Bruker by 21.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,306,122 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $987,981,000 after buying an additional 2,521,904 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Bruker by 127.8% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,389,537 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $88,666,000 after acquiring an additional 779,549 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Bruker during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,472,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd increased its stake in shares of Bruker by 4,875.9% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 470,171 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $32,470,000 after purchasing an additional 460,722 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Bruker by 1,933.2% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 410,234 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $28,331,000 after purchasing an additional 390,057 shares during the period. 79.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bruker Company Profile

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.