Sector Gamma AS Increases Stake in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Sector Gamma AS raised its position in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) by 23.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 127,312 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,957 shares during the period. Bruker accounts for approximately 2.3% of Sector Gamma AS’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Sector Gamma AS owned approximately 0.09% of Bruker worth $9,355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Bruker by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 21,537 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,342,000 after acquiring an additional 1,192 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Bruker by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 13,259 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $826,000 after acquiring an additional 1,312 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of Bruker by 58.0% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 41,233 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,569,000 after acquiring an additional 15,137 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bruker in the 3rd quarter worth $266,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bruker in the 3rd quarter worth $671,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on BRKR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Bruker from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Bruker from $63.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Bruker from $94.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Citigroup raised their price objective on Bruker from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Bruker from $66.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Hermann Fritz Requardt sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.06, for a total transaction of $1,350,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,147 shares in the company, valued at $2,084,618.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 28.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Bruker Trading Up 0.5 %

Bruker stock traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $80.97. 488,537 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 727,653. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $88.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.49. Bruker Co. has a 12-month low of $53.79 and a 12-month high of $94.86. The firm has a market cap of $11.77 billion, a PE ratio of 27.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $844.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $809.35 million. Bruker had a return on equity of 29.94% and a net margin of 14.41%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. Research analysts expect that Bruker Co. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Bruker’s payout ratio is 6.85%.

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.