LPL Financial LLC Trims Position in Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC reduced its stake in Bruker Corporation by 5.3%, owning approximately 0.15% of the company, which is valued at $9.2 million.
• CEO Frank H. Laukien purchased 2,608 shares at an average price of $38.36, increasing his ownership to around 38.5 million shares valued at approximately $1.48 billion.
• Bruker reported earnings of $0.32 per share for the last quarter, missing estimates, and its revenue was down 0.4% year-over-year, totaling $797.4 million.

LPL Financial LLC decreased its position in shares of Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR - Free Report) by 5.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 220,695 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 12,310 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Bruker worth $9,212,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BRKR. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new stake in Bruker during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Bruker by 92.4% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 758 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Bruker by 274.9% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,091 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Bruker by 54.2% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,109 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Bruker by 45.8% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,325 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.52% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bruker news, CEO Frank H. Laukien purchased 2,608 shares of Bruker stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $38.36 per share, with a total value of $100,042.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 38,462,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,475,408,879.56. This represents a 0.01% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 27.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Bruker Stock Up 5.1%

Shares of BRKR stock traded up $1.58 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $32.36. 2,460,446 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,463,805. The stock has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.16. The stock's fifty day moving average is $39.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.24. Bruker Corporation has a 52-week low of $30.00 and a 52-week high of $72.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The medical research company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $797.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $811.17 million. Bruker had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 17.89%. The business's quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Bruker Corporation will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 23rd will be paid a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Bruker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BRKR has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Bruker from $57.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $60.00 target price on shares of Bruker and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $40.00 target price on shares of Bruker and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Bruker from $61.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Bruker from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.30.

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.