Balentine LLC Makes New Investment in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Balentine LLC bought a new position in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,419 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Bruker by 53.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 541 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Bruker by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 200,594 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $12,497,000 after buying an additional 871 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bruker by 90.2% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 776 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bruker by 32.2% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 56,961 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,549,000 after buying an additional 13,888 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Bruker by 4,042.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 320,166 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $19,946,000 after buying an additional 312,438 shares during the period. 79.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bruker Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ BRKR opened at $76.70 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $83.53 and its 200-day moving average is $76.73. Bruker Co. has a 1 year low of $53.79 and a 1 year high of $94.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.15 billion, a PE ratio of 27.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical research company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.07. Bruker had a net margin of 13.38% and a return on equity of 27.31%. The business had revenue of $721.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $729.88 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. Bruker’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Bruker Co. will post 2.7 EPS for the current year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. Bruker’s payout ratio is 7.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bruker news, Director Hermann Fritz Requardt sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.06, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 28.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on BRKR shares. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Bruker from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Bruker from $66.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Bruker from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 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 research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Bruker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.00.

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.