Vestcor Inc Sells 3,907 Shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Vestcor Inc trimmed its position in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) by 33.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,746 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,907 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Bruker were worth $454,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRKR. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of Bruker by 4,636.4% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 521 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted 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 valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Bruker by 37.5% in the 4th 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 last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 412 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the period. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bruker Trading Up 2.1 %

NASDAQ:BRKR opened at $46.94 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.76, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.18. Bruker Co. has a 52 week low of $44.11 and a 52 week high of $94.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $53.38 and a 200 day moving average of $58.22.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.01. Bruker had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 3.36%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bruker Co. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Bruker in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Bank of America increased their price target on Bruker from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Bruker from $70.00 to $57.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Bruker in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $66.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.50.

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.