Russell Investments Group Ltd. Trims Holdings in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR - Free Report) by 81.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,680 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 32,849 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in Bruker were worth $450,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bruker by 2,324.1% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 703 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Bruker by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 909 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Bruker by 47.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,279 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Bruker by 41.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,330 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Bruker by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,164 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BRKR. Barclays dropped their target price on Bruker from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Bruker from $70.00 to $57.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. 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. 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $65.00.

Bruker Stock Down 1.0 %

Bruker stock traded down $0.38 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $39.28. The stock had a trading volume of 134,950 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,516,478. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.70, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $42.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.45. Bruker Co. has a one year low of $34.10 and a one year high of $82.04.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.01. Bruker had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 21.01%. On average, analysts expect that Bruker Co. will post 2.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Bruker's payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

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.