Amundi Has $542,000 Stock Position in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Amundi reduced its holdings in shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) by 49.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,981 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 8,764 shares during the quarter. Amundi’s holdings in Bruker were worth $542,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its holdings in shares of Bruker by 11.7% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 134,254 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,272,000 after buying an additional 14,069 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Bruker by 446.8% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 27,998 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,934,000 after purchasing an additional 22,878 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Bruker during the fourth quarter worth about $300,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in Bruker by 39.9% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 602,144 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $41,584,000 after purchasing an additional 171,806 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Bruker by 21.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,306,122 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $987,981,000 after purchasing an additional 2,521,904 shares during the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bruker Stock Performance

NASDAQ BRKR opened at $44.47 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $52.49 and its 200-day moving average is $57.90. Bruker Co. has a 12-month low of $44.11 and a 12-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 $6.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.18.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.01. Bruker had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 21.01%. Sell-side analysts predict that Bruker Co. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.