Savant Capital LLC Boosts Position in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Savant Capital LLC grew its stake in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR - Free Report) by 44.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,440 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,198 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC's holdings in Bruker were worth $1,550,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Bruker Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ BRKR traded down $1.11 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $50.04. The company had a trading volume of 2,044,498 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,412,424. The company has a market capitalization of $7.59 billion, a PE ratio of 24.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 1.16. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $57.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.35. Bruker Co. has a 1-year low of $48.07 and a 1-year high of $94.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.01. Bruker had a return on equity of 21.52% and a net margin of 9.41%. On average, analysts predict that Bruker Co. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on BRKR shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Bruker in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Bruker from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Bruker from $69.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Bruker from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.50.

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.