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

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 314,704 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 30,304 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Bruker were worth $18,448,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. FIL Ltd increased its position in Bruker by 262.3% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,961,416 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $114,978,000 after buying an additional 1,420,102 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Bruker during the fourth quarter valued at $63,378,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Bruker by 4,510.3% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 783,988 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $45,957,000 after purchasing an additional 766,983 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 666,617 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Bruker by 139.3% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 526,166 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,844,000 after purchasing an additional 306,282 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Bruker Trading Down 3.9 %

Shares of Bruker stock opened at $36.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.50 billion, a PE ratio of 47.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.18. Bruker Co. has a 1-year low of $34.10 and a 1-year high of $83.32. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.67.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.01. Bruker had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 3.36%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Bruker Co. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Bruker’s payout ratio is 26.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BRKR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Bruker from $75.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Bruker from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Barclays dropped 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. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Bruker in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bruker presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.