Analysts Set Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) Target Price at $74.45

Shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $74.45.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Bruker from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Bruker from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wolfe Research cut Bruker from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays reduced their price target on Bruker from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Bruker in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $66.00 price objective for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bruker

In other news, CEO Frank H. Laukien acquired 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $50.14 per share, with a total value of $5,014,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 38,439,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,927,359,688.82. This represents a 0.26 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 28.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Bruker by 6.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 30,223 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,929,000 after purchasing an additional 1,776 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bruker by 48.5% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 301,251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $19,223,000 after buying an additional 98,427 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Bruker by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,277,273 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $81,508,000 after buying an additional 101,539 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its stake in Bruker by 7.7% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 9,047 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $577,000 after buying an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in Bruker in the second quarter worth $258,000. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bruker Price Performance

BRKR opened at $57.29 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.54, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $58.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.55. Bruker has a 12-month low of $48.07 and a 12-month high of $94.86.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $864.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $866.46 million. Bruker had a return on equity of 21.52% and a net margin of 9.41%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Bruker will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Bruker’s payout ratio is currently 9.62%.

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.