Duality Advisers LP Trims Stake in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Duality Advisers LP reduced its position in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) by 33.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,661 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,867 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP’s holdings in Bruker were worth $563,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bruker by 68.2% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bruker by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,285 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC increased its position in Bruker by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 3,412 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Bruker by 53.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 541 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in Bruker by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 48,140 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,999,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the period. 79.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Hermann Fritz Requardt sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.06, for a total value of $1,350,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,084,618.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 28.20% of the company’s stock.

Bruker Stock Performance

NASDAQ BRKR opened at $80.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The business’s 50 day moving average is $88.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.44. Bruker Co. has a 12-month low of $53.79 and a 12-month high of $94.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.60, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.17.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $844.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $809.35 million. Bruker had a return on equity of 29.94% and a net margin of 14.41%. The company’s revenue was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. Research analysts expect that Bruker Co. will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Bruker from $94.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Bruker from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $60.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Bruker from $66.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Bruker from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Bruker from $63.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.86.

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.