Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Grows Holdings in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) by 5.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 332,728 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 17,518 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned about 0.24% of Bruker worth $31,256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in Bruker by 68.2% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Bruker by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,285 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $388,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Bruker by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 3,412 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp increased its position in shares of Bruker by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 1,139 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Bruker by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,005 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Bruker Trading Down 1.1 %

Bruker stock opened at $61.64 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $70.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.41, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.20. Bruker Co. has a 52-week low of $53.79 and a 52-week high of $94.86.

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

Bruker Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.32%. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BRKR. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Bruker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Bruker from $66.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Bruker from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Bruker in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bruker presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.00.

Bruker 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.