MetLife Investment Management LLC Grows Holdings in Bruker Corporation $BRKR

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Bruker Corporation by 473.9% in Q1, acquiring a total of 375,375 shares now valued at approximately $15.67 million.
• Analysts have mixed views on Bruker's stock; while Jefferies Financial Group set a target price of $60.00 with a "buy" rating, Citigroup lowered its target from $40.00 to $38.00 and maintained a "neutral" stance.
• Bruker's CEO, Frank H. Laukien, recently bought 2,608 shares for about $100,042, bringing his total ownership to over $1.47 billion.

MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR - Free Report) by 473.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 375,375 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 309,968 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned 0.25% of Bruker worth $15,668,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jump Financial LLC lifted its position in Bruker by 407.0% during the 1st 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 period. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in Bruker by 86.5% in the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 9,094 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 4,218 shares during the last quarter. Kaufman Rossin Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Bruker in the first quarter worth about $206,000. Candriam S.C.A. raised its holdings in Bruker by 104.9% in the first quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 379,027 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $15,821,000 after buying an additional 194,081 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. raised its holdings in Bruker by 80.7% in the first quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 9,983 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $413,000 after buying an additional 4,459 shares during the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on BRKR shares. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Bruker from $46.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Bruker from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $40.00 target price on shares of Bruker and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. UBS Group decreased their target price 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, Bank of America decreased 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. Five 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.30.

Insider Transactions at Bruker

In other news, CEO Frank H. Laukien bought 2,608 shares of Bruker stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $38.36 per share, with a total value of $100,042.88. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 38,462,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,475,408,879.56. The trade was a 0.01% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 27.30% of the company's stock.

Bruker Stock Performance

NASDAQ BRKR traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $33.98. 1,843,243 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,440,611. Bruker Corporation has a 52 week low of $30.00 and a 52 week high of $72.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.16. 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 business's fifty day moving average price is $38.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.46.

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

Bruker Dividend Announcement

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

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.