Eversept Partners LP Takes $13.77 Million Position in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Eversept Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 234,934 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $13,772,000. Bruker comprises 1.2% of Eversept Partners LP's holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Eversept Partners LP owned about 0.15% of Bruker at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BRKR. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bruker by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,287 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $779,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Bruker by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,273 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bruker by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,880 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Bruker by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 30,725 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,801,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Bruker by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,233 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bruker Trading Up 2.9 %

BRKR stock traded up $1.08 during trading on Thursday, hitting $38.97. The company had a trading volume of 1,849,258 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,514,187. Bruker Co. has a 52-week low of $34.10 and a 52-week high of $82.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.28, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $0.76 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Bruker Co. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Bruker's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.