Wesleyan Assurance Society Makes New Investment in Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Wesleyan Assurance Society bought a new position in Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 175,000 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $7,303,000. Wesleyan Assurance Society owned 0.12% of Bruker at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of BRKR. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Bruker in the 4th quarter valued at about $608,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Bruker in the 4th quarter valued at about $661,000. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in Bruker by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 6,972 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $409,000 after buying an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Bruker by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 28,971 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,698,000 after buying an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Bruker by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 62,006 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,635,000 after buying an additional 11,087 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.52% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Frank H. Laukien bought 2,608 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $38.36 per share, for a total transaction of $100,042.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 38,462,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,475,408,879.56. This trade represents a 0.01% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 27.30% of the company's stock.

Bruker Stock Performance

BRKR traded up $0.53 on Thursday, hitting $40.44. 2,000,142 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,308,633. The firm has a market cap of $6.13 billion, a PE ratio of 77.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.18. Bruker Corporation has a twelve month low of $34.10 and a twelve month high of $72.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $39.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $801.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $763.83 million. Bruker had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 19.47%. Bruker's quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Bruker Corporation will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Bruker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Bruker from $57.00 to $48.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Citigroup lowered shares of Bruker from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the company from $50.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Bruker from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Bruker from $61.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $52.89.

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.