Liontrust Investment Partners LLP Invests $344,000 in Bruker Corporation $BRKR

Key Points

• Liontrust Investment Partners LLP invested approximately $344,000 in Bruker Corporation by acquiring 8,249 shares during the first quarter.
• Recent analyst reports have resulted in lowered price targets for Bruker's stock, with Barclays setting it at $43, while Bank of America has lowered it to $50, reflecting a cautious market sentiment.
• Bruker Corporation announced a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share, with a total annualized dividend yield of 0.6%, demonstrating the company's commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 8,249 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $344,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BRKR. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in shares of Bruker by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 29,045 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,212,000 after purchasing an additional 1,422 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Bruker by 54.2% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,109 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Bruker by 81.2% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 29,826 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,245,000 after buying an additional 13,367 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Bruker by 38.0% during the 1st quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,522 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $230,000 after acquiring an additional 1,520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bruker by 29.0% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,514 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 791 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.52% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bruker news, CEO Frank H. Laukien acquired 2,608 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $38.36 per share, with a total value of $100,042.88. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 38,462,171 shares in the company, valued at $1,475,408,879.56. This trade represents a 0.01% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 27.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Bruker Trading Up 0.8%

NASDAQ:BRKR traded up $0.2620 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $33.9920. The company's stock had a trading volume of 854,951 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,451,252. Bruker Corporation has a twelve month low of $30.00 and a twelve month high of $72.94. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $38.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.35. The stock has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The medical research company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $797.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $811.17 million. Bruker had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 2.31%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. Bruker has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.950-2.050 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Bruker Corporation will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 23rd. Bruker's dividend payout ratio is 38.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BRKR. Jefferies Financial Group set a $60.00 price target on Bruker and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Bruker from $61.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Bruker from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Bruker from $57.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Bruker from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.30.

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.