Kennedy Capital Management LLC Decreases Position in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) by 33.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,179 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 30,783 shares during the quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Bruker were worth $5,841,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BRKR. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in Bruker by 68.2% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Bruker in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in Bruker in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Bruker in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Bruker by 139.1% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 361 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BRKR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Bruker in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Bruker from $81.00 to $77.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 20th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Bruker from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Bruker from $72.00 to $60.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Bruker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.78.

Bruker Stock Up 3.0 %

BRKR stock traded up $2.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $70.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 155,468 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,000,975. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Bruker Co. has a 52-week low of $53.79 and a 52-week high of $94.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.71, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.04.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical research company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $721.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $729.88 million. Bruker had a net margin of 13.38% and a return on equity of 27.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Bruker Co. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.27%.

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.