Van ECK Associates Corp Grows Stock Holdings in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR – Get Rating) by 9.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,827 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 254 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Bruker were worth $150,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BRKR. London Co. of Virginia increased its holdings in Bruker by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 4,105 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC increased its holdings in Bruker by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 3,631 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Bruker by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,904 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $187,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Bruker by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,857 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Bruker by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 26,510 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,705,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bruker

In other Bruker news, Director Richard A. Packer sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.18, for a total value of $1,323,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 59,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,964,645.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Bruker news, Director Cynthia M. Friend sold 921 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.26, for a total value of $62,867.46. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $790,177.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard A. Packer sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.18, for a total transaction of $1,323,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 59,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,964,645.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 27.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BRKR has been the topic of a number of research reports. TheStreet upgraded shares of Bruker from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Friday, November 4th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Bruker in a report on Friday, October 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bruker from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 7th. Finally, Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Bruker to $75.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.00.

Bruker Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BRKR opened at $68.75 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.57, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.18. Bruker Co. has a 12 month low of $48.42 and a 12 month high of $74.94. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $67.31 and its 200 day moving average is $62.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 3rd. The medical research company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $638.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $613.53 million. Bruker had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 32.58%. Research analysts predict that Bruker Co. will post 2.31 EPS for the current year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 1st were given a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 30th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.29%. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.93%.

Bruker Company Profile

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Bruker Corporation develops, manufactures, and distributes scientific instruments, and analytical and diagnostic solutions in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Bruker Scientific Instruments (BSI) Life Science, BSI NANO, and Bruker Energy & Supercon Technologies.