JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 15,857 Shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its stake in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR - Free Report) by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 219,884 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 15,857 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.15% of Bruker worth $15,185,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BRKR. FMR LLC raised its stake in Bruker by 21.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,306,122 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $987,981,000 after buying an additional 2,521,904 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Bruker by 127.8% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,389,537 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $88,666,000 after acquiring an additional 779,549 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Bruker in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,472,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd boosted its position in shares of Bruker by 4,875.9% during the third quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 470,171 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $32,470,000 after purchasing an additional 460,722 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Bruker by 1,933.2% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 410,234 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $28,331,000 after purchasing an additional 390,057 shares during the period. 79.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Frank H. Laukien bought 100,000 shares of Bruker stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $50.14 per share, with a total value of $5,014,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 38,439,563 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,927,359,688.82. The trade was a 0.26 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 28.30% of the company's stock.

Bruker Stock Performance

BRKR traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $60.78. 1,376,775 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,103,396. The company's 50-day moving average is $57.80 and its 200 day moving average is $61.80. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $9.21 billion, a PE ratio of 29.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.17. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $864.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $866.46 million. Bruker had a net margin of 9.41% and a return on equity of 21.52%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Bruker Co. will post 2.4 EPS for the current year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. Bruker's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BRKR. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Bruker from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Bruker from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Bruker from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Bruker from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on Bruker from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bruker presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.45.

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.