Fmr LLC Buys 2,521,904 Shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Fmr LLC increased its position in shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 14,306,122 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,521,904 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC owned 0.09% of Bruker worth $987,981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Bruker by 127.8% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,389,537 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $88,666,000 after acquiring an additional 779,549 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Bruker during the 2nd quarter worth $36,472,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Bruker by 123.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 555,468 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,444,000 after buying an additional 307,021 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its stake in Bruker by 78.3% in the second quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 593,091 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $37,845,000 after buying an additional 260,363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Europe London LLP grew its position in Bruker by 262.9% in the second quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP now owns 333,997 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $21,312,000 after acquiring an additional 241,959 shares during the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Frank H. Laukien acquired 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $50.14 per share, for a total transaction of $5,014,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 38,439,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,927,359,688.82. This trade represents a 0.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 28.30% of the company’s stock.

Bruker Trading Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ:BRKR opened at $58.38 on Thursday. Bruker Co. has a 52 week low of $48.07 and a 52 week high of $94.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.66. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $61.18 and its 200-day moving average is $64.29. The firm has a market cap of $8.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 1.20.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.01). Bruker had a net margin of 9.41% and a return on equity of 21.52%. The firm had revenue of $864.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $866.46 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Bruker Co. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BRKR shares. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Bruker from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Bruker from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Bruker from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Wolfe Research cut Bruker from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Bruker from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.36.

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.