Securian Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stake in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Securian Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 8,366 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 227 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Bruker were worth $490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. 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. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Bruker by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 30,725 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,801,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Bruker by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,233 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Bruker by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 909 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Bruker by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,164 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BRKR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Bruker in a research report on Monday, February 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Bruker from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Bruker from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Bruker in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $66.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Bruker from $69.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.50.

Bruker Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of Bruker stock opened at $46.94 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.12 billion, a PE ratio of 61.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $53.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.22. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $44.11 and a 1 year high of $94.86.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.01. Bruker had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 3.36%. Equities research analysts predict that Bruker Co. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Bruker 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.