Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) Earns Neutral Rating from Analysts at UBS Group

UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Free Report) in a research note published on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage 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 reports. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Bruker from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Bruker from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wolfe Research downgraded Bruker from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Bruker from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Bruker from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bruker presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $76.09.

Bruker Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of Bruker stock traded down $1.47 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $59.98. The stock had a trading volume of 1,030,303 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,114,473. 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 capitalization of $9.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $59.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.18. Bruker has a 52 week low of $48.07 and a 52 week high of $94.86.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $864.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $866.46 million. Bruker had a net margin of 9.41% and a return on equity of 21.52%. The company's revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Bruker will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Bruker

In other news, CEO Frank H. Laukien bought 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were bought at an average price 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 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 28.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Bruker by 20.0% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 991 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Bruker by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,766 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Bruker by 120.4% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 399 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Bruker by 0.8% during the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 30,911 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,972,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Bruker by 2.1% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 12,700 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $877,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.