Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Sells 30,304 Shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. trimmed its position in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 314,704 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 30,304 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned approximately 0.21% of Bruker worth $18,448,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in Bruker by 262.3% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,961,416 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $114,978,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,102 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Bruker during the fourth quarter valued at $63,378,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Bruker by 4,510.3% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 783,988 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $45,957,000 after buying an additional 766,983 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in Bruker by 140.3% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,141,762 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $66,930,000 after acquiring an additional 666,617 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Bruker by 139.3% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 526,166 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,844,000 after acquiring an additional 306,282 shares in the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bruker Stock Down 3.9 %

Shares of Bruker stock opened at $36.28 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $44.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.67. Bruker Co. has a 52-week low of $34.10 and a 52-week high of $83.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.18.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 forecast that Bruker Co. will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued 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 (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Bruker from $70.00 to $57.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Bruker from $75.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Bruker from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Bruker in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Bruker from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bruker presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.00.

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.