Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) Shares Sold by Congress Asset Management Co.

Congress Asset Management Co. trimmed its position in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) by 72.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,308 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 8,521 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Bruker were worth $228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Bruker by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,788,763 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $168,036,000 after purchasing an additional 123,984 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc bought a new position in shares of Bruker in the first quarter valued at $1,142,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Bruker during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,472,000. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bruker by 15.2% during the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 466,865 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $43,857,000 after acquiring an additional 61,429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Bruker by 1,694.4% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 202,733 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $12,936,000 after acquiring an additional 191,435 shares during the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bruker Trading Up 4.7 %

NASDAQ BRKR opened at $59.29 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.98 billion, a PE ratio of 24.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.18. Bruker Co. has a 1-year low of $55.12 and a 1-year high of $94.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.04.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52. Bruker had a return on equity of 24.92% and a net margin of 11.29%. The company had revenue of $800.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $799.44 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bruker Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 2nd were paid a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Bruker’s payout ratio is presently 8.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BRKR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research downgraded Bruker from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Bruker in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $78.00 target price for the company. Barclays began coverage on shares of Bruker in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Bruker from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Bruker from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.82.

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.