Needham Investment Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Needham Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) by 76.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 230,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 100,000 shares during the quarter. Bruker comprises 1.2% of Needham Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Needham Investment Management LLC owned about 0.15% of Bruker worth $15,884,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BRKR. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Bruker during the 3rd quarter valued at $313,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Bruker by 2.5% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 890,189 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $61,480,000 after acquiring an additional 21,793 shares during the period. Cinctive Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Bruker during the third quarter worth about $8,005,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bruker in the 3rd quarter worth about $621,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bruker by 4,636.4% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 521 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Bruker Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of BRKR stock traded up $0.47 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $58.37. 833,793 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,696,812. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.18. Bruker Co. has a one year low of $48.07 and a one year high of $94.86. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.79. 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 (NASDAQ:BRKR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $864.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $866.46 million. Bruker had a return on equity of 21.52% and a net margin of 9.41%. Bruker’s revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Bruker Co. will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BRKR shares. Wolfe Research cut shares of Bruker from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. Citigroup cut their price objective on Bruker from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Bruker from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Bruker from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Frank H. Laukien bought 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $50.14 per share, for a total transaction of $5,014,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 38,439,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,927,359,688.82. This trade represents a 0.26 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 28.30% of the company’s stock.

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.