Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the seven analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $84.29.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BRKR shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Bruker from $63.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Bruker from $94.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Citigroup upped their price target on Bruker from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Bruker in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Bruker from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 14th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Hermann Fritz Requardt sold 15,000 shares of Bruker stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.06, for a total value of $1,350,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,147 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,084,618.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 28.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bruker

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BRKR. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in Bruker by 68.2% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bruker by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 33,400 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,454,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Bruker by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,414 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,464,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bruker by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,285 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $388,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bruker by 90.4% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 356 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.52% of the company's stock.

Bruker Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Bruker stock traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $93.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 429,294 shares, compared to its average volume of 820,498. The company has a market capitalization of $12.93 billion, a PE ratio of 32.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $82.29 and a 200 day moving average of $71.10. Bruker has a 12 month low of $53.79 and a 12 month high of $94.86.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $844.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $809.35 million. Bruker had a return on equity of 29.94% and a net margin of 14.41%. Bruker's revenue for the quarter was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. Analysts predict that Bruker will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.21%. Bruker's dividend payout ratio is presently 6.85%.

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.