Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $74.45.

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wolfe Research cut shares of Bruker from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays cut their target price on Bruker from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Bruker from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Bruker from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Bruker from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th.

Bruker Stock Performance

NASDAQ BRKR opened at $60.07 on Wednesday. Bruker has a 1-year low of $48.07 and a 1-year high of $94.86. The company has a 50 day moving average of $57.88 and a 200-day moving average of $61.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $9.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.88, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.17.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). Bruker had a return on equity of 21.52% and a net margin of 9.41%. The company had revenue of $864.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $866.46 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Bruker will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The business 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 0.33%. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.62%.

Insider Activity at Bruker

In other Bruker news, CEO Frank H. Laukien bought 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $50.14 per share, with a total value of $5,014,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 38,439,563 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,927,359,688.82. The trade was a 0.26 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 28.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bruker

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRKR. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its holdings in shares of Bruker by 11.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 14,069 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Bruker in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,472,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Bruker by 446.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 27,998 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,934,000 after buying an additional 22,878 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bruker by 48.5% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 301,251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $19,223,000 after buying an additional 98,427 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Bruker by 39.9% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 602,144 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $41,584,000 after buying an additional 171,806 shares during the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is owned by 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.