Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) Shares Sold by Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB

Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB decreased its stake in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) by 18.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,315 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 8,000 shares during the period. Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB’s holdings in Bruker were worth $2,129,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in Bruker by 11.7% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 134,254 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,272,000 after buying an additional 14,069 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Bruker in the 4th quarter valued at about $300,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Bruker by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 988,863 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $57,967,000 after purchasing an additional 69,806 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Bruker by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,164 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Bruker by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 214,580 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $12,619,000 after purchasing an additional 3,819 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Bruker Stock Down 3.2 %

NASDAQ BRKR opened at $36.46 on Friday. Bruker Co. has a 12 month low of $34.10 and a 12 month high of $91.47. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.13. The company has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.97, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.18. 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 (NASDAQ:BRKR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.01. Bruker had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 21.01%. Equities research analysts expect that Bruker Co. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group began coverage on Bruker in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $66.00 price objective for the company. Barclays reduced their price target on Bruker from $69.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Bruker in a report on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Bruker from $70.00 to $57.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Bruker from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.50.

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.