RTW Investments LP Cuts Holdings in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

RTW Investments LP lowered its holdings in shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR - Free Report) by 28.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,481,119 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 1,000,000 shares during the quarter. Bruker makes up 2.2% of RTW Investments LP's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. RTW Investments LP owned approximately 1.64% of Bruker worth $145,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. London Co. of Virginia lifted its stake in Bruker by 78.4% in the 4th quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 4,193,454 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $245,820,000 after purchasing an additional 1,843,294 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd lifted its stake in Bruker by 262.3% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,961,416 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $114,978,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,102 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Bruker in the 4th quarter worth $63,378,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Bruker by 4,510.3% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 783,988 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $45,957,000 after purchasing an additional 766,983 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its stake in Bruker by 140.3% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,141,762 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $66,930,000 after purchasing an additional 666,617 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.52% of the company's stock.

Bruker Trading Up 0.7%

Bruker stock traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $37.80. The stock had a trading volume of 1,512,809 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,604,018. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Bruker Co. has a 52-week low of $34.10 and a 52-week high of $78.94. The firm has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a fifty day moving average of $40.19 and a 200 day moving average of $50.26.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The medical research company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. Bruker had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The company had revenue of $801.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $763.83 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.53 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Bruker Co. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Bruker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Bruker from $75.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Bruker from $57.00 to $48.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Bruker from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Bruker from $57.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Bruker from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.10.

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.