Cerity Partners LLC Buys 22,878 Shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR - Free Report) by 446.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,998 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 22,878 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Bruker were worth $1,934,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Bruker by 20.0% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 991 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bruker by 2.3% in the second quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,766 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $496,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bruker by 120.4% in 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 during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings 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 last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Bruker by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 858 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.52% of the company's stock.

Bruker Stock Down 1.4 %

BRKR stock traded down $0.82 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $57.55. The stock had a trading volume of 1,133,615 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,646,186. Bruker Co. has a one year low of $48.07 and a one year high of $94.86. The company's 50 day moving average is $60.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.79. The company has a market capitalization of $8.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts' expectations of $866.46 million. Bruker had a return on equity of 21.52% and a net margin of 9.41%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Bruker Co. will post 2.4 EPS for the current year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Bruker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Frank H. Laukien bought 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $50.14 per share, for a total transaction of $5,014,000.00. Following the purchase, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 28.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BRKR. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Bruker from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on 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 Bruker from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Bruker from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Bruker from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" 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 issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company 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.