Freshford Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 183,574 Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Freshford Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 183,574 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $10,761,000. Bruker accounts for approximately 3.1% of Freshford Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Freshford Capital Management LLC owned 0.12% of Bruker as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BRKR. FIL Ltd grew its position in Bruker by 262.3% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,961,416 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $114,978,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420,102 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Bruker in the 4th quarter valued at $63,378,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Bruker by 4,510.3% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 783,988 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $45,957,000 after purchasing an additional 766,983 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in Bruker by 140.3% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 666,617 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Bruker by 22.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,687,364 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $98,914,000 after buying an additional 313,171 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.52% of the company's stock.

Bruker Trading Up 2.7 %

NASDAQ:BRKR opened at $36.96 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $43.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Bruker Co. has a 12-month low of $34.10 and a 12-month high of $83.32. The firm has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a PE ratio of 48.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.18.

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, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Bruker Co. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Bruker's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BRKR. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Bruker from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Bruker from $75.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Bruker from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Bruker from $70.00 to $57.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Bruker in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.

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