Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Makes New $14.34 Million Investment in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 244,700 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $14,344,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned 0.16% of Bruker at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Bruker by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,013,741 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $118,081,000 after buying an additional 20,273 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd increased its position in shares of Bruker by 262.3% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,961,416 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $114,978,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,102 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Bruker by 140.3% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,141,762 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $66,930,000 after purchasing an additional 666,617 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Bruker during the fourth quarter worth $63,378,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Bruker by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 988,863 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $57,967,000 after buying an additional 69,806 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.52% of the company's stock.

Bruker Price Performance

Shares of Bruker stock traded up $0.60 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $36.58. The company had a trading volume of 397,394 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,496,220. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.36. Bruker Co. has a 1-year low of $34.10 and a 1-year high of $83.32. 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 company has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.18.

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

Bruker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Bruker's payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BRKR shares. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Bruker from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Bruker from $70.00 to $57.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Bruker in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Bruker from $75.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Bruker from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bruker has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $65.00.

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.