Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC Takes $231,000 Position in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,954 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Front Row Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bruker during the fourth quarter worth $206,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Bruker by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,013,741 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $118,081,000 after buying an additional 20,273 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Bruker by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,525 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $558,000 after acquiring an additional 1,834 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in Bruker by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 69,556 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,069,000 after acquiring an additional 6,247 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in shares of Bruker by 37.8% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 829,763 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $48,641,000 after acquiring an additional 227,619 shares during the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bruker Stock Up 6.1 %

Bruker stock opened at $38.70 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.92, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.79. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $34.10 and a fifty-two week high of $91.34.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bruker Co. will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BRKR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Bruker from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays dropped their target price on Bruker from $69.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Bruker from $75.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. UBS Group began coverage on Bruker in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $66.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Bruker in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.00.

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.