Brokerages Set Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR) PT at $51.30

Shares of Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $51.30.

BRKR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $40.00 target price on shares of Bruker and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Bruker from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Bruker from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Bruker from $61.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Bruker from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Frank H. Laukien purchased 2,608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $38.36 per share, with a total value of $100,042.88. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 38,462,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,475,408,879.56. The trade was a 0.01% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 27.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BRKR. London Co. of Virginia lifted its holdings in Bruker by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 4,193,454 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $245,820,000 after acquiring an additional 1,843,294 shares during the period. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Bruker in the second quarter valued at approximately $62,032,000. Sculptor Capital LP lifted its holdings in Bruker by 484.1% in the fourth quarter. Sculptor Capital LP now owns 1,714,015 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $100,476,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420,569 shares during the period. Steadfast Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Bruker in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,997,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Bruker in the second quarter valued at approximately $44,459,000. 79.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bruker Stock Performance

Shares of Bruker stock opened at $33.64 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a PE ratio of 64.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.61. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.96. Bruker has a one year low of $30.00 and a one year high of $72.94.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The medical research company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $797.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $811.17 million. Bruker had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 2.31%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Bruker will post 2.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 23rd will be given a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.46%.

About Bruker

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.