Candriam S.C.A. Reduces Holdings in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Candriam S.C.A. lowered its holdings in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) by 51.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 184,946 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 195,838 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A. owned approximately 0.12% of Bruker worth $10,842,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BRKR. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in Bruker by 4,636.4% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 521 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 510 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Bruker by 2,324.1% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 703 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 674 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Bruker by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 909 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Bruker by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,279 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 412 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Bruker in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on BRKR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Bruker from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays lowered their target price on Bruker from $69.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group began coverage on Bruker in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $66.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Bruker in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Bruker from $70.00 to $57.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.50.

Bruker Stock Up 0.4 %

BRKR stock opened at $48.41 on Friday. Bruker Co. has a twelve month low of $45.29 and a twelve month high of $94.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $7.34 billion, a PE ratio of 63.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50 day moving average of $55.17 and a 200 day moving average of $59.20.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 3.36%. On average, research analysts forecast that Bruker Co. will post 2.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Bruker’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

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.