Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Buys 34,600 Shares of Bruker Corporation $BRKR

Key Points

• Ceredex Value Advisors LLC increased its stake in Bruker Corporation by 14.1%, acquiring an additional 34,600 shares, bringing its total ownership to 279,300 shares valued at $11.7 million.
• Bruker reported a quarterly earnings loss with an EPS of $0.32, missing analyst expectations of $0.33, while also experiencing a 0.4% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share, with a yield of 0.6%, set to be paid on October 3rd to investors of record.

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC boosted its position in Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR - Free Report) by 14.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 279,300 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 34,600 shares during the quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned 0.18% of Bruker worth $11,658,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FORA Capital LLC lifted its stake in Bruker by 55.2% during the first quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 10,945 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 3,892 shares during the last quarter. Old West Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Bruker in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,166,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Bruker by 473.9% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 375,375 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $15,668,000 after buying an additional 309,968 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC grew its position in Bruker by 407.0% during the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 173,545 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $7,244,000 after acquiring an additional 139,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in shares of Bruker by 86.5% during the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 9,094 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 4,218 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.52% of the company's stock.

Bruker Stock Performance

Bruker stock opened at $34.06 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.16. Bruker Corporation has a 1-year low of $30.00 and a 1-year high of $72.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $38.32 and a 200-day moving average of $40.63.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The medical research company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.01). Bruker had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 17.89%. The business had revenue of $797.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $811.17 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Bruker has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.950-2.050 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Bruker Corporation will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 23rd will be paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Bruker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BRKR shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $60.00 target price on shares of Bruker and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Bruker from $61.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Bruker from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $40.00 target price on Bruker and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Bruker from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Frank H. Laukien acquired 2,608 shares of Bruker stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $38.36 per share, with a total value of $100,042.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 38,462,171 shares in the company, valued at $1,475,408,879.56. This trade represents a 0.01% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 27.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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