RTW Investments LP Raises Holdings in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

RTW Investments LP grew its position in shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,481,119 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 37,024 shares during the quarter. Bruker accounts for 3.5% of RTW Investments LP's portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. RTW Investments LP owned about 2.30% of Bruker worth $240,406,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Bruker in the first quarter valued at $218,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Bruker by 350.0% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 33,131 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,112,000 after purchasing an additional 25,768 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bruker in the 1st quarter valued at $693,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Bruker by 165.4% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,777 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 2,977 shares during the period. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Bruker by 16.8% during the 2nd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,357 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,235,000 after buying an additional 2,784 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.52% of the company's stock.

Bruker Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BRKR traded down $1.02 on Thursday, reaching $58.48. The company had a trading volume of 1,245,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,114,866. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $60.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.64. Bruker Co. has a twelve month low of $48.07 and a twelve month high of $94.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $864.40 million for 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 prior year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Bruker Co. will post 2.4 EPS for the current year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Bruker's payout ratio is presently 9.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on BRKR shares. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Bruker from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Bruker from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Bruker from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Bruker from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Bruker from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bruker presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $79.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Frank H. Laukien bought 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $50.14 per share, with a total value of $5,014,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 28.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.