Barclays PLC Buys 32,401 Shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR - Free Report) by 58.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 88,086 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 32,401 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned 0.06% of Bruker worth $5,164,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its position in Bruker by 2,324.1% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 703 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Bruker by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 909 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bruker by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,279 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Bruker by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,273 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Bruker by 41.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,330 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the period. 79.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bruker Price Performance

NASDAQ BRKR traded up $0.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $39.63. 1,109,485 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,525,980. The company has a market capitalization of $6.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.18. Bruker Co. has a 12-month low of $34.10 and a 12-month high of $79.78. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.11. 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 posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 21.01%. As a group, analysts predict that Bruker Co. will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Bruker's payout ratio is 26.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on BRKR. Citigroup lowered their target price on Bruker from $75.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Bruker in a report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Bruker from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price 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, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Bruker from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $65.00.

About Bruker

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.