Duality Advisers LP Cuts Position in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Duality Advisers LP lessened its position in shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) by 33.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,661 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,867 shares during the quarter. Duality Advisers LP’s holdings in Bruker were worth $563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in Bruker by 68.2% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Bruker by 3.0% during 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 buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Bruker by 5.7% during 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 buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in Bruker by 0.5% during 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 buying an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Bruker

In related news, Director Hermann Fritz Requardt sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.06, for a total transaction of $1,350,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,084,618.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 28.20% of the company’s stock.

Bruker Price Performance

Shares of BRKR stock opened at $80.59 on Friday. Bruker Co. has a 52-week low of $53.79 and a 52-week high of $94.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $88.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.44.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $844.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $809.35 million. Bruker had a return on equity of 29.94% and a net margin of 14.41%. Bruker’s revenue was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Bruker Co. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BRKR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. UBS Group lifted 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. Citigroup lifted 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Bruker from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bruker has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.