Palisade Capital Management LP Acquires 40,564 Shares of Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Palisade Capital Management LP increased its stake in Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR - Free Report) by 6.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 674,925 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 40,564 shares during the period. Palisade Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.45% of Bruker worth $28,171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in Bruker by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,273 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Bruker by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,880 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Bruker by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 30,725 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,801,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. CGN Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Bruker by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 22,014 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $919,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Bruker by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 37,115 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,549,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bruker Stock Down 0.1%

NASDAQ:BRKR traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $42.42. The stock had a trading volume of 1,207,758 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,711,660. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $38.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.90. Bruker Corporation has a 1-year low of $34.10 and a 1-year high of $72.94. The company has a market capitalization of $6.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.18.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The medical research company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. Bruker had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 2.31%. The firm had revenue of $801.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $763.83 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Bruker Corporation will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Bruker's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.46%.

Insider Transactions at Bruker

In other news, CEO Frank H. Laukien bought 2,608 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $38.36 per share, with a total value of $100,042.88. Following the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 27.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on BRKR shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Bruker from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. 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. Barclays cut their price objective on Bruker from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Bank of America cut their price target on Bruker from $61.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Bruker from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Bruker currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $52.89.

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.