BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 20,194 Shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets reduced its stake in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR - Free Report) by 46.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,722 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 20,194 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Bruker were worth $1,638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Bruker by 20.0% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 991 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Bruker by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,766 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $496,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Bruker by 120.4% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 399 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. grew its stake in Bruker by 0.8% in the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 30,911 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,972,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Bruker by 2.1% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 12,700 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $877,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.52% of the company's stock.

Bruker Stock Performance

Shares of Bruker stock traded up $0.48 during trading on Friday, reaching $58.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,094,026 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,515,329. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The business's 50-day moving average price is $59.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.39. The firm has a market cap of $8.94 billion, a PE ratio of 28.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 1.18. Bruker Co. has a 52 week low of $48.07 and a 52 week high of $94.86.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $864.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $866.46 million. Bruker had a return on equity of 21.52% and a net margin of 9.41%. The firm's revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. Equities analysts forecast 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 dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. Bruker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Frank H. Laukien bought 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were bought 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 directly owns 38,439,563 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,927,359,688.82. This trade represents a 0.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 28.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BRKR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Bruker from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Bruker from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Bruker from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Bruker from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Bruker from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $79.36.

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.