Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $74.45.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Bruker from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Bruker from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Bruker from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Bruker from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Bruker from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th.

Insider Activity at Bruker

In other news, CEO Frank H. Laukien acquired 100,000 shares of Bruker stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $50.14 per share, for a total transaction of $5,014,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 38,439,563 shares in the company, valued at $1,927,359,688.82. The trade was a 0.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 28.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bruker

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BRKR. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in Bruker by 4,636.4% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 521 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 510 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Bruker by 115.3% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 661 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the period. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Bruker in the 2nd quarter worth $52,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Bruker by 81.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 867 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the period. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Bruker during the third quarter valued at $73,000. Institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Bruker Stock Performance

Shares of BRKR opened at $58.41 on Friday. Bruker has a one year low of $48.07 and a one year high of $94.86. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.85 billion, a PE ratio of 28.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.18.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $864.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $866.46 million. Bruker had a net margin of 9.41% and a return on equity of 21.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Bruker will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio 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.