Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR) Shares Acquired by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR - Free Report) by 81.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 29,826 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 13,367 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Bruker were worth $1,245,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BRKR. London Co. of Virginia grew its stake in Bruker by 78.4% in the fourth quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 4,193,454 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $245,820,000 after purchasing an additional 1,843,294 shares in the last quarter. Sculptor Capital LP grew its position in shares of Bruker by 484.1% during the 4th quarter. Sculptor Capital LP now owns 1,714,015 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $100,476,000 after buying an additional 1,420,569 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd increased its stake in shares of Bruker by 262.3% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,961,416 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $114,978,000 after buying an additional 1,420,102 shares during the period. Steadfast Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Bruker in the fourth quarter valued at about $63,997,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Bruker during the 4th quarter worth about $63,378,000. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BRKR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Bruker from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Bruker from $57.00 to $48.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Bruker from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Bruker from $61.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Bruker from $57.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $52.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Frank H. Laukien acquired 2,608 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $38.36 per share, with a total value of $100,042.88. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 27.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Bruker Stock Performance

NASDAQ BRKR traded up $0.59 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $42.49. The stock had a trading volume of 2,021,691 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,172,413. Bruker Corporation has a 52-week low of $34.10 and a 52-week high of $72.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $38.72 and a 200 day moving average of $46.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market cap of $6.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.18.

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 analysts' consensus estimates 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%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Bruker Corporation will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.46%.

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.