Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Cuts Position in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp reduced its stake in shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) by 13.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 70,009 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 11,152 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Bruker were worth $4,467,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Bruker by 120.4% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 399 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bruker in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Bruker during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Bruker by 139.1% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 361 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Bruker in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Bruker Stock Performance

NASDAQ BRKR opened at $65.66 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Bruker Co. has a twelve month low of $53.79 and a twelve month high of $94.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $64.17 and a 200 day moving average of $73.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.88, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.18.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.52. The business had revenue of $800.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $799.44 million. Bruker had a return on equity of 24.92% and a net margin of 11.29%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Bruker Co. will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. Bruker’s payout ratio is 7.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BRKR. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Bruker from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com lowered Bruker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Bruker in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Bruker from $81.00 to $77.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 20th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bruker currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.40.

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.