Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) Shares Sold by T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,394,990 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 642,151 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned about 8.18% of Bruker worth $726,595,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Bruker by 2,324.1% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 703 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Bruker by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 909 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Bruker by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,273 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bruker by 47.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,279 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Bruker by 41.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,330 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Bruker Price Performance

BRKR opened at $36.96 on Wednesday. Bruker Co. has a 52-week low of $34.10 and a 52-week high of $83.32. The company has a 50 day moving average of $43.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.25. The company has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

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%. On average, analysts expect that Bruker Co. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BRKR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Bruker from $75.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Bruker in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays cut their price target on Bruker from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Bruker from $70.00 to $57.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Bruker from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bruker currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.