Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) Reaches New 12-Month Low - Time to Sell?

Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $47.44 and last traded at $48.67, with a volume of 297008 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on BRKR. Bank of America upped their target price on Bruker from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Bruker from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note 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 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Bruker from $69.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Bruker in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $66.00 price objective for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bruker has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.50.

Bruker Price Performance

The company's 50 day simple moving average is $56.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.09 billion, a PE ratio of 61.50, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.16.

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Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.01. Bruker had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 3.36%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Bruker Co. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Bruker's payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bruker

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BRKR. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in shares of Bruker by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 134,254 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $9,272,000 after purchasing an additional 14,069 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Bruker by 446.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 27,998 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,934,000 after buying an additional 22,878 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Bruker in the fourth quarter valued at $300,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in Bruker by 39.9% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 602,144 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $41,584,000 after acquiring an additional 171,806 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in Bruker by 21.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,306,122 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $987,981,000 after acquiring an additional 2,521,904 shares during the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is currently 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.