Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) Shares Acquired by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 134,561 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 307 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Bruker were worth $7,888,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC increased its stake in Bruker by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,306,122 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $987,981,000 after purchasing an additional 2,521,904 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Bruker by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,627,300 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $250,501,000 after acquiring an additional 318,808 shares during the period. RTW Investments LP raised its stake in Bruker by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 3,481,119 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $240,406,000 after acquiring an additional 37,024 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Bruker by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,993,468 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $137,702,000 after acquiring an additional 193,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Bruker by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 899,638 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $62,129,000 after acquiring an additional 94,612 shares during the period. 79.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Bruker

In other news, CEO Frank H. Laukien purchased 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $50.14 per share, with a total value of $5,014,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 38,439,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,927,359,688.82. This represents a 0.26 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 28.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BRKR has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Bruker in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $66.00 target price for the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Bruker from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Bruker from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Bruker from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Bruker in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.45.

Bruker Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BRKR opened at $55.59 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $8.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $58.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.04. Bruker Co. has a 1-year low of $48.07 and a 1-year high of $94.86.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.62%.

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.