First Trust Advisors LP Boosts Stock Holdings in Bruker Corporation $BRKR

First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR) by 37.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 951,802 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 257,755 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Bruker were worth $39,214,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Bruker by 373.3% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 42,503 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,774,000 after acquiring an additional 33,522 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Bruker by 71.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,293,645 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $53,298,000 after purchasing an additional 537,845 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Bruker by 35.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 40,450 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,717,000 after purchasing an additional 10,624 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in Bruker by 60.8% in the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 55,672 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,294,000 after purchasing an additional 21,043 shares during the period. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its holdings in Bruker by 39.0% during the 2nd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 51,828 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,135,000 after buying an additional 14,547 shares in the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bruker Price Performance

Shares of Bruker stock opened at $45.36 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.89 billion, a PE ratio of -283.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.77 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Bruker Corporation has a 12 month low of $28.53 and a 12 month high of $64.64. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $41.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.13.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The medical research company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.12. Bruker had a positive return on equity of 15.45% and a negative net margin of 0.61%.The business had revenue of $860.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $847.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. Bruker’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Bruker has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.850-1.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bruker Corporation will post 2.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -125.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Cynthia M. Friend sold 3,535 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.25, for a total transaction of $114,003.75. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $581,016. This trade represents a 16.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John A. Ornell sold 6,233 shares of Bruker stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.00, for a total value of $243,087.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 35,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,373,268. This represents a 15.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 27.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BRKR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Bruker in a report on Monday, December 1st. Redburn Partners set a $60.00 target price on shares of Bruker in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Bruker in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “sell” rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Bruker from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Rothschild Redb raised Bruker to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bruker has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.83.

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.