Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) Holdings Reduced by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its position in shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR - Free Report) by 68.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,691 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 16,821 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings in Bruker were worth $488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bruker by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,306,122 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $987,981,000 after acquiring an additional 2,521,904 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Bruker by 9.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,627,300 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $250,501,000 after purchasing an additional 318,808 shares during the period. RTW Investments LP lifted its stake in shares of Bruker by 1.1% during the third quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 3,481,119 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $240,406,000 after purchasing an additional 37,024 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Bruker by 10.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,993,468 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $137,702,000 after buying an additional 193,580 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Bruker by 127.8% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,389,537 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $88,666,000 after buying an additional 779,549 shares during the period. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bruker Stock Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ BRKR traded up $0.12 on Tuesday, hitting $58.62. 850,014 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,127,798. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $57.54 and a 200 day moving average of $62.13. Bruker Co. has a twelve month low of $48.07 and a twelve month high of $94.86. The company has a market capitalization of $8.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.18.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $866.46 million. Bruker had a net margin of 9.41% and a return on equity of 21.52%. The business's revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Bruker Co. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Bruker's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Bruker from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Bruker from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. TD Cowen lowered their price target 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 target on shares of Bruker from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of 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, December 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Frank H. Laukien acquired 100,000 shares of Bruker stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $50.14 per share, for a total transaction of $5,014,000.00. Following the transaction, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 28.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Bruker 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.