Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR) Shares Sold by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR - Free Report) by 68.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,538 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 33,004 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in Bruker were worth $648,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. London Co. of Virginia grew its holdings in Bruker by 78.4% during the 4th quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 4,193,454 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $245,820,000 after buying an additional 1,843,294 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bruker by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,026,712 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $118,806,000 after purchasing an additional 185,912 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bruker by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,013,741 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $118,081,000 after purchasing an additional 20,273 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Bruker by 262.3% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,961,416 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $114,978,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sculptor Capital LP grew its holdings in shares of Bruker by 484.1% in the fourth quarter. Sculptor Capital LP now owns 1,714,015 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $100,476,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,569 shares in the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bruker

In other news, CEO Frank H. Laukien acquired 2,608 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $38.36 per share, for a total transaction of $100,042.88. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 38,462,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,475,408,879.56. The trade was a 0.01% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 27.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Bruker Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:BRKR traded down $0.04 on Friday, hitting $42.42. 1,207,758 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,711,660. Bruker Corporation has a 12 month low of $34.10 and a 12 month high of $72.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.18. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $38.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $801.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $763.83 million. Bruker had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 2.31%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Bruker Corporation will post 2.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Bruker's payout ratio is currently 38.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BRKR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Bruker from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Bruker from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report 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 report on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Bruker from $57.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report 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 for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $52.89.

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.