Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) Shares Sold by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. lowered its stake in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,488 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,555 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Bruker were worth $1,726,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of BRKR. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Bruker by 145.0% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 512 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Bruker by 53.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 541 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in Bruker during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Clear Street Markets LLC acquired a new stake in Bruker during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Bruker during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Bruker

In related news, Director Hermann Fritz Requardt sold 15,000 shares of the firm’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 directly 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. 28.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Bruker Trading Up 5.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ BRKR opened at $82.46 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $11.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.17. Bruker Co. has a 12-month low of $53.79 and a 12-month high of $94.86. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $88.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.39.

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

Bruker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.