Polar Capital Holdings Plc Lowers Stock Position in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Polar Capital Holdings Plc decreased its position in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR - Free Report) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 305,190 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 12,311 shares during the quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc owned approximately 0.20% of Bruker worth $17,890,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BRKR. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Bruker by 36.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,685 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,847,000 after purchasing an additional 14,888 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Bruker by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,287 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $779,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Bruker by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 115,508 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $6,771,000 after acquiring an additional 11,860 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bruker in the 4th quarter worth about $300,000. Finally, CGN Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bruker in the 4th quarter worth about $1,273,000. Institutional investors own 79.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on Bruker from $75.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Bruker from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays lowered their price target on Bruker from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Bruker in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Bruker from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bruker currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.10.

Bruker Stock Performance

NASDAQ BRKR traded down $1.35 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $36.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 531,500 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,603,828. Bruker Co. has a 12 month low of $34.10 and a 12 month high of $78.94. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $40.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.17. The company has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The medical research company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $801.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $763.83 million. Bruker had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 3.36%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.53 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bruker Co. will post 2.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Bruker's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.46%.

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.