Expect Equity LLC Buys New Stake in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Expect Equity LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 42,880 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $2,514,000. Bruker comprises about 2.6% of Expect Equity LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in Bruker in the fourth quarter valued at about $413,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Bruker by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 23,083 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,353,000 after buying an additional 2,799 shares during the last quarter. Braidwell LP acquired a new position in Bruker during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $20,705,000. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in Bruker by 32.7% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,973 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 1,472 shares during the period. Finally, Chapman Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Bruker in the 4th quarter worth approximately $472,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.52% of the company's stock.

Bruker Stock Down 3.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:BRKR traded down $1.53 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $37.21. 1,254,526 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,584,996. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.60. Bruker Co. has a 52-week low of $34.10 and a 52-week high of $79.78. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $40.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.89. The company has a market capitalization of $5.64 billion, a PE ratio of 48.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.23.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The medical research company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. Bruker had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 3.36%. The company had revenue of $801.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $763.83 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Bruker Co. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Bruker's payout ratio is 38.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on BRKR shares. Barclays cut their target price on Bruker from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Bruker from $57.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Bruker from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Bruker in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Bruker from $57.00 to $48.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. 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, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.10.

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.