Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $74.45.

BRKR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Bruker from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Bruker from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Bruker in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Bruker from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Bruker from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th.

Insider Activity at Bruker

In related news, CEO Frank H. Laukien purchased 100,000 shares of Bruker stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $50.14 per share, for a total transaction of $5,014,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 38,439,563 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,927,359,688.82. The trade was a 0.26 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 28.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bruker by 4,636.4% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 521 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 510 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Bruker by 115.3% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 661 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd bought a new position in Bruker in the second quarter valued at about $52,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Bruker by 81.0% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 867 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bruker during the 3rd quarter valued at about $73,000. Institutional investors own 79.52% of the company's stock.

Bruker Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ BRKR traded up $0.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $58.41. The company had a trading volume of 790,809 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,130,225. The company's fifty day moving average is $57.61 and its 200-day moving average is $62.22. Bruker has a one year low of $48.07 and a one year 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. The company has a market cap of $8.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.18.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $864.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $866.46 million. Bruker had a return on equity of 21.52% and a net margin of 9.41%. Bruker's quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Bruker will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Bruker's payout ratio is currently 9.62%.

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.