Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) Receives $74.45 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $74.45.

BRKR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays dropped their price target on Bruker from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Bruker from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Bruker in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $66.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Bruker from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Bruker in a research report on Friday, January 17th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bruker

In other news, CEO Frank H. Laukien acquired 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $50.14 per share, for a total transaction of $5,014,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 38,439,563 shares in the company, 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 available at this hyperlink. 28.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its position in shares of Bruker by 11.7% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 134,254 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $9,272,000 after buying an additional 14,069 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Bruker during the second quarter valued at $36,472,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Bruker by 446.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 27,998 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,934,000 after buying an additional 22,878 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Bruker by 48.5% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 301,251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $19,223,000 after purchasing an additional 98,427 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in Bruker by 39.9% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 602,144 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $41,584,000 after buying an additional 171,806 shares during the period. 79.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bruker Stock Up 0.2 %

BRKR opened at $56.11 on Wednesday. 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 has a one year low of $48.07 and a one year high of $94.86. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $58.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.17.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $864.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $866.46 million. Bruker had a return on equity of 21.52% and a net margin of 9.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Bruker will post 2.4 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.62%.

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.