Analysts Set Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) Price Target at $74.45

Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $74.45.

A number of research firms recently commented on BRKR. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Bruker from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Bruker from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Bruker from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Bruker from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th.

Bruker Trading Up 0.2 %

BRKR opened at $58.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Bruker has a fifty-two week low of $48.07 and a fifty-two week high of $94.86. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $57.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.13, a PEG ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.18.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $864.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $866.46 million. Bruker had a return on equity of 21.52% and a net margin of 9.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Bruker will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio is 9.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Frank H. Laukien purchased 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $50.14 per share, for a total transaction of $5,014,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 38,439,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,927,359,688.82. This trade represents a 0.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 28.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bruker

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Bruker by 3.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 966,069 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $61,645,000 after purchasing an additional 27,870 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Bruker by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 23,493 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,499,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bruker by 114.8% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 139,486 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $8,901,000 after buying an additional 74,541 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Bruker during the second quarter valued at approximately $694,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Bruker by 8.0% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 48,570 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,099,000 after acquiring an additional 3,608 shares during the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.