Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) Sees Strong Trading Volume

Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 1,151,124 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 27% from the previous session's volume of 903,111 shares.The stock last traded at $75.02 and had previously closed at $75.82.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on BRKR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Bruker from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Bruker from $63.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Bruker from $66.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Bruker from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Bruker from $94.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $84.86.

Bruker Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.81. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $84.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.18. The stock has a market cap of $10.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.22.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical research company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.07. Bruker had a return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 13.38%. The business had revenue of $721.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $729.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Bruker Co. will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.27%. Bruker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.27%.

Insider Activity at Bruker

In other Bruker news, Director Hermann Fritz Requardt sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.06, for a total transaction of $1,350,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,147 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,084,618.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 28.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bruker

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BRKR. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in Bruker by 68.2% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bruker during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in Bruker during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Bruker by 145.0% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 512 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Bruker during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 79.52% of the company's stock.

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.