Bruker Co. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.05 (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, February 24th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of 0.05 per share by the medical research company on Friday, March 28th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th.

Bruker has increased its dividend payment by an average of 7.7% annually over the last three years. Bruker has a dividend payout ratio of 6.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Bruker to earn $3.15 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 6.3%.

Bruker Price Performance

NASDAQ BRKR traded up $1.07 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $51.89. 1,519,493 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,646,538. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $56.73 and a 200-day moving average of $60.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Bruker has a one year low of $48.07 and a one year high of $94.86. The stock has a market cap of $7.87 billion, a PE ratio of 68.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.16.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.01. Bruker had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 3.36%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Bruker will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on BRKR shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Bruker from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Bruker from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays cut their price target on Bruker from $69.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America raised their price target on Bruker from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Bruker from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.