Voya Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Voya Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR - Free Report) by 24.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 143,658 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 45,585 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Bruker worth $8,421,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its holdings in Bruker by 11.7% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 134,254 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $9,272,000 after buying an additional 14,069 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bruker in the fourth quarter valued at about $300,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in Bruker by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,514 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 791 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Bruker by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 988,863 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $57,967,000 after purchasing an additional 69,806 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Bruker by 13.5% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.52% of the company's stock.

Bruker Stock Up 2.8 %

NASDAQ:BRKR traded up $1.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $40.44. 3,505,606 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,528,203. The company has a market capitalization of $6.13 billion, a PE ratio of 53.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Bruker Co. has a fifty-two week low of $34.10 and a fifty-two week high of $79.78. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.95.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.01. Bruker had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 3.36%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Bruker Co. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Bruker's payout ratio is 26.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BRKR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price on Bruker from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Bruker in a report on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Bruker from $70.00 to $57.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Bruker from $75.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Bruker from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $65.00.

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.