AQR Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR - Free Report) by 18.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 890,089 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 140,000 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.59% of Bruker worth $52,177,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on BRKR. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Bruker from $75.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Barclays decreased their target price on Bruker from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Bruker from $70.00 to $57.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Bruker from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Bruker in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.00.

Bruker Stock Up 2.8 %

Bruker stock traded up $1.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $40.44. 3,505,606 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,526,469. 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 $6.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.21, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.23. The business's 50 day moving average is $42.05 and its 200 day moving average is $51.83. Bruker Co. has a 52 week low of $34.10 and a 52 week high of $79.78.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.01. Bruker had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 21.01%. Analysts predict that Bruker Co. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Bruker's dividend payout ratio is 26.32%.

Bruker Company 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.