Hantz Financial Services Inc. Takes $694,000 Position in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,879 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $694,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Bruker during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Bruker by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 38,315 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,815,000 after purchasing an additional 4,874 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Bruker by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 58,560 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,303,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Bruker in the fourth quarter valued at about $823,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its stake in Bruker by 75.3% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 77,303 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,679,000 after buying an additional 33,204 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Bruker Stock Performance

Shares of Bruker stock opened at $67.19 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $63.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.74. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $9.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.43, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. Bruker Co. has a 52 week low of $53.79 and a 52 week high of $94.86.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.52. The firm had revenue of $800.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $799.44 million. Bruker had a return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 13.38%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Bruker Co. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.30%. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BRKR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Bruker from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Bruker in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $78.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Bruker from $81.00 to $77.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Bruker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Bruker from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.40.

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.