Candriam S.C.A. Purchases 194,081 Shares of Bruker Corporation $BRKR

Candriam S.C.A. lifted its position in Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR) by 104.9% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 379,027 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 194,081 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Bruker were worth $15,821,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BRKR. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new position in Bruker during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Bruker by 92.4% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 758 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Bruker by 1,354.5% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 800 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 745 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bruker in the first quarter worth $42,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of Bruker by 274.9% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,091 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BRKR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $40.00 price target on Bruker and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. UBS Group cut their price target on Bruker from $57.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Bruker from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Bruker from $46.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on Bruker from $61.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bruker presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.30.

Bruker Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:BRKR opened at $33.73 on Thursday. Bruker Corporation has a 52-week low of $30.00 and a 52-week high of $72.94. The stock has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s 50 day moving average is $38.66 and its 200 day moving average is $41.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The medical research company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $797.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $811.17 million. Bruker had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 17.89%. The firm’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. Bruker has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.950-2.050 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Bruker Corporation will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 23rd. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.46%.

Insider Activity at Bruker

In other news, CEO Frank H. Laukien bought 2,608 shares of Bruker stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $38.36 per share, for a total transaction of $100,042.88. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 38,462,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,475,408,879.56. The trade was a 0.01% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 27.30% of the company’s stock.

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.