BNP Paribas Financial Markets Grows Position in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR - Free Report) by 257.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 84,758 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 61,036 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.06% of Bruker worth $4,969,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Bruker by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,615,358 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $94,692,000 after buying an additional 154,768 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new stake in Bruker during the 4th quarter valued at about $249,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Bruker during the 4th quarter valued at about $112,000. Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in Bruker by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 36,866 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,161,000 after buying an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Bruker by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 890,089 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $52,177,000 after buying an additional 140,000 shares in the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Bruker from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Bruker from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Bruker from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Bruker from $57.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating on shares of Bruker in a report on Monday, February 24th. Six research 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, Bruker currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.10.

Bruker Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ BRKR traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $37.80. 1,512,809 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,604,018. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a PE ratio of 49.74, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $40.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.26. Bruker Co. has a 12 month low of $34.10 and a 12 month high of $78.94.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The medical research company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $801.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $763.83 million. Bruker had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 21.01%. Bruker's revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.53 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Bruker Co. will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Bruker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.46%.

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.