Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR - Free Report) by 41.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 58,671 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 17,068 shares during the period. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Bruker were worth $3,439,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC raised its position in Bruker by 36.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,685 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,847,000 after purchasing an additional 14,888 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Bruker by 95.8% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 9,089 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $628,000 after acquiring an additional 4,447 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in shares of Bruker by 11.7% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 134,254 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $9,272,000 after acquiring an additional 14,069 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Bruker by 47.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,279 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Bruker during the 4th quarter worth approximately $251,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.52% of the company's stock.

Bruker Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of BRKR traded up $0.93 on Wednesday, reaching $37.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,186,520 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,510,737. Bruker Co. has a twelve month low of $34.10 and a twelve month high of $83.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.74 billion, a PE ratio of 49.86, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.18. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $43.68 and a 200-day moving average of $53.14.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts predict that Bruker Co. will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Bruker's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Bruker from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays dropped their price target on Bruker from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Bruker from $70.00 to $57.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Bruker in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Bruker from $75.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Bruker presently has a consensus 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.