Front Row Advisors LLC Invests $206,000 in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Front Row Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,514 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Bruker by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,627,300 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $250,501,000 after purchasing an additional 318,808 shares during the last quarter. RTW Investments LP grew its holdings in Bruker by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 3,481,119 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $240,406,000 after acquiring an additional 37,024 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Bruker by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,013,741 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $118,081,000 after acquiring an additional 20,273 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Bruker by 140.3% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,141,762 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $66,930,000 after acquiring an additional 666,617 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Bruker in the 4th quarter valued at about $63,378,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Bruker Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BRKR opened at $41.74 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $6.33 billion, a PE ratio of 54.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.75. Bruker Co. has a 1-year low of $40.60 and a 1-year high of $94.35.

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

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group began coverage on Bruker in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $66.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Bruker in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Bruker from $70.00 to $57.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Bank of America raised their target price on Bruker from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Bruker from $69.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.50.

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.