Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Stake in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) by 38.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,628 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 10,206 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Bruker were worth $2,188,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BRKR. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Bruker by 446.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 27,998 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,934,000 after acquiring an additional 22,878 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of Bruker by 31.2% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 61,138 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,321,000 after purchasing an additional 14,547 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Bruker by 3.8% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 115,616 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,984,000 after buying an additional 4,247 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its position in Bruker by 41.1% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 5,772 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 1,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Bruker by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 60,247 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,161,000 after acquiring an additional 5,757 shares during the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Bruker in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Bruker from $70.00 to $57.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Bruker from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Bruker in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $66.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Bruker from $69.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bruker has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.50.

Bruker Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ BRKR opened at $40.38 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $49.85 and its 200 day moving average is $56.57. Bruker Co. has a 52 week low of $40.34 and a 52 week high of $92.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $6.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.13, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.18.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $0.76 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Bruker Co. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.