Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc cut its holdings in shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 191,919 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 14,652 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.13% of Bruker worth $11,250,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Bruker by 2,324.1% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 703 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Bruker by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 909 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Bruker by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,273 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Bruker by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,279 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Bruker by 41.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,330 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bruker Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BRKR opened at $37.74 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $45.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.20. Bruker Co. has a 1 year low of $34.10 and a 1 year high of $84.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a PE ratio of 49.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.18.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $0.76 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Bruker Co. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BRKR. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Bruker from $70.00 to $57.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Bruker from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Bruker in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Bruker from $75.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bruker has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.50.

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.