Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at UBS Group

UBS Group began coverage on shares of Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $66.00 price objective on the medical research company’s stock.

BRKR has been the topic of several other research reports. Barclays decreased their target price on Bruker from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Bruker from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Bruker from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Bruker from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Bruker from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.09.

Bruker Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BRKR opened at $59.98 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $59.32 and a 200 day moving average of $63.06. The company has a market cap of $9.09 billion, a PE ratio of 28.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 1.18. Bruker has a 12-month low of $48.07 and a 12-month high of $94.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.01). Bruker had a return on equity of 21.52% and a net margin of 9.41%. The firm had revenue of $864.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $866.46 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Bruker will post 2.4 EPS for the current year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Bruker’s payout ratio is currently 9.62%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Frank H. Laukien purchased 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $50.14 per share, for a total transaction of $5,014,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 38,439,563 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,927,359,688.82. This trade represents a 0.26 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 28.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bruker

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake in shares of Bruker by 11.7% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 134,254 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,272,000 after acquiring an additional 14,069 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in Bruker by 95.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 9,089 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $628,000 after purchasing an additional 4,447 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bruker by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,553 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bruker by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,993,468 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $137,702,000 after buying an additional 193,580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Bruker by 36.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,685 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,847,000 after buying an additional 14,888 shares during the period. 79.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.