Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Sells 30,304 Shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR - Free Report) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 314,704 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 30,304 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned 0.21% of Bruker worth $18,448,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its position in Bruker by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 134,254 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $9,272,000 after purchasing an additional 14,069 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bruker in the fourth quarter worth approximately $300,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Bruker by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,514 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 791 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Bruker by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 988,863 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $57,967,000 after purchasing an additional 69,806 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bruker by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,164 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. 79.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Bruker Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BRKR traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $39.16. The stock had a trading volume of 566,664 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,510,606. The company has a market cap of $5.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.18. The business's 50 day moving average price is $43.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Bruker Co. has a 1 year low of $34.10 and a 1 year high of $82.04.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 21.01%. Research analysts expect that Bruker Co. will post 2.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Bruker's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.