Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Decreases Stake in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lessened its holdings in shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) by 45.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,952,303 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,506,071 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Bruker were worth $173,064,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Front Row Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bruker in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Bruker by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,013,741 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $118,081,000 after acquiring an additional 20,273 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Bruker by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,525 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $558,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in shares of Bruker by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 69,556 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,069,000 after acquiring an additional 6,247 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its holdings in Bruker by 37.8% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 829,763 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $48,641,000 after purchasing an additional 227,619 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Bruker Stock Down 8.5 %

Shares of BRKR opened at $37.66 on Friday. Bruker Co. has a 52 week low of $36.89 and a 52 week high of $91.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.01. Bruker had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 21.01%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Bruker Co. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Bruker’s payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on BRKR shares. Barclays reduced their target price on Bruker from $69.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Bruker from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Bruker from $70.00 to $57.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Bruker from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Bruker in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $66.00 price target on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bruker presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.50.

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.