Bruker Co. (BRKR) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.05 on June 27th

Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, May 12th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of 0.05 per share by the medical research company on Friday, June 27th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th.

Bruker has a payout ratio of 7.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Bruker to earn $3.15 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 6.3%.

Bruker Stock Performance

Shares of BRKR stock opened at $38.30 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $38.30 and a 200-day moving average of $47.93. The company has a market cap of $5.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.16. 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 has a one year low of $34.10 and a one year high of $72.94.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on BRKR. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Bruker from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Bruker in a research report on Monday, February 24th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Bruker from $57.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Citigroup lowered shares of Bruker from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $50.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Bruker from $57.00 to $48.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bruker

In related news, CEO Frank H. Laukien bought 2,608 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $38.36 per share, for a total transaction of $100,042.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 38,462,171 shares in the company, valued at $1,475,408,879.56. This trade represents a 0.01% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 27.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bruker

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BRKR. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Bruker by 107.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,465,319 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $61,162,000 after purchasing an additional 758,301 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Bruker by 8.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 123,336 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,148,000 after acquiring an additional 9,501 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Bruker by 2.6% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 366,204 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $15,285,000 after acquiring an additional 9,235 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bruker during the first quarter worth approximately $262,000. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in shares of Bruker by 115.0% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 11,232 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $469,000 after acquiring an additional 6,008 shares in the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.