Expect Equity LLC Invests $2.51 Million in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Expect Equity LLC bought a new stake in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 42,880 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,514,000. Bruker comprises about 2.6% of Expect Equity LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bruker during the fourth quarter worth about $300,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 increased 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 worth $57,967,000 after buying an additional 69,806 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Bruker by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,164 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in shares of Bruker by 95.1% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 190,855 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $11,188,000 after acquiring an additional 93,048 shares during the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on BRKR. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Bruker from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Bruker from $57.00 to $48.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup cut their price target on Bruker from $75.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Bruker from $57.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Bruker from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.10.

Bruker Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Bruker stock opened at $40.48 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $41.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.37. The stock has a market cap of $6.13 billion, a PE ratio of 53.26, 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 12-month low of $34.10 and a 12-month high of $79.78.

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

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Bruker’s dividend 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.