Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) CEO Buys $100,042.88 in Stock

Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) CEO Frank H. Laukien purchased 2,608 shares of Bruker stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $38.36 per share, with a total value of $100,042.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 38,462,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,475,408,879.56. This trade represents a 0.01% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Bruker Stock Performance

BRKR stock traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $39.87. 1,433,862 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,623,692. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.04 billion, a PE ratio of 52.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $38.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.19. Bruker Co. has a 52 week low of $34.10 and a 52 week high of $72.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The medical research company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $801.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $763.83 million. Bruker had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 3.36%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.53 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Bruker Co. will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Bruker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BRKR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Bruker from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Bruker from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Bruker in a report on Monday, February 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Bruker from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Bruker from $57.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.22.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bruker

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in Bruker by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,273 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Bruker by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,880 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Bruker by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 30,725 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,801,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Bruker by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,233 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CGN Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Bruker by 1.4% in the first quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 22,014 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $919,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.52% of the company's stock.

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.