Barclays PLC Raises Position in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Barclays PLC grew its stake in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR - Free Report) by 36.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,685 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,888 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC's holdings in Bruker were worth $3,847,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 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 purchasing an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Bruker by 115.3% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 661 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd acquired a new position in Bruker during the second quarter worth $52,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew 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 valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Bruker by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 991 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.52% of the company's stock.

Bruker Stock Up 0.7 %

BRKR traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $57.39. The company had a trading volume of 1,652,031 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,135,565. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $58.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.42. The company has a market capitalization of $8.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.59, a PEG ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.18. Bruker Co. has a 52 week low of $48.07 and a 52 week high of $94.86.

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

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Bruker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.62%.

Insider Activity

In other Bruker news, CEO Frank H. Laukien acquired 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $50.14 per share, with a total value of $5,014,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 38,439,563 shares in the company, valued at $1,927,359,688.82. This trade represents a 0.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 28.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BRKR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Guggenheim assumed coverage on Bruker in a report on Thursday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Bruker in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $66.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Bruker from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Bruker from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $60.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Bruker from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bruker has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.45.

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.