Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Has $2.38 Million Stock Holdings in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky trimmed its stake in shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,426 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,600 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Bruker were worth $2,383,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Bruker in the fourth quarter valued at $2,384,000. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bruker during the 4th quarter worth about $3,366,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Bruker by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 315,210 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $23,161,000 after purchasing an additional 121,201 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Bruker by 79.4% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 188,201 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $13,829,000 after buying an additional 83,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Iron Triangle Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Bruker by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Iron Triangle Partners LP now owns 450,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,066,000 after buying an additional 19,157 shares in the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bruker Price Performance

BRKR opened at $66.54 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $73.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.67 billion, a PE ratio of 24.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.25. Bruker Co. has a 52 week low of $53.79 and a 52 week high of $94.86.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical research company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $721.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $729.88 million. Bruker had a return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 13.38%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Bruker Co. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Bruker from $81.00 to $77.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 20th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Bruker from $94.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Bruker in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Bruker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Bruker from $66.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bruker has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.00.

Bruker 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.