Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Has $66.93 Million Holdings in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its holdings in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) by 140.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,141,762 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 666,617 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in Bruker were worth $66,930,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Bruker by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 16,494 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $967,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Bruker by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 44,366 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,601,000 after buying an additional 1,686 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bruker by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,164 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Bruker by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 909 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CGN Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bruker during the fourth quarter worth $1,273,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Bruker Stock Performance

Shares of BRKR stock opened at $55.59 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $58.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.06. Bruker Co. has a one year low of $48.07 and a one year high of $94.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bruker

In other Bruker news, CEO Frank H. Laukien bought 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $50.14 per share, with a total value of $5,014,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 38,439,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,927,359,688.82. The trade was a 0.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 28.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BRKR. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Bruker from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Bruker from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Bruker from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Bruker from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Bruker from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bruker has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.45.

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.