Barclays Cuts Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) Price Target to $65.00

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) had its target price cut by Barclays from $69.00 to $65.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on BRKR. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Bruker from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Bruker from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Bruker from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Bruker from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Bruker in a report on Friday, January 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.09.

Bruker Price Performance

NASDAQ BRKR opened at $51.13 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.75 billion, a PE ratio of 24.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.66. Bruker has a twelve month low of $48.07 and a twelve month high of $94.86.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Bruker’s payout ratio is 9.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Frank H. Laukien bought 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $50.14 per share, with a total value of $5,014,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 38,439,563 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,927,359,688.82. The trade was a 0.26 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 28.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bruker

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRKR. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Bruker by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,287 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $779,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Bruker by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 30,725 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,801,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Bruker by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,233 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Bruker by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 909 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bruker by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,164 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $127,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bruker Company 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.