Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Sells 117,946 Shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. trimmed its holdings in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR - Free Report) by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 475,145 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 117,946 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned about 0.31% of Bruker worth $32,814,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BRKR. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bruker by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 146,694 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $10,131,000 after buying an additional 16,044 shares during the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bruker by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,041 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,270 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Bruker by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 42,680 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,947,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bruker by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 40,522 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,798,000 after purchasing an additional 5,523 shares during the period. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its holdings in shares of Bruker by 3.6% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 36,627 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,529,000 after buying an additional 1,267 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.52% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Bruker Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BRKR traded down $1.89 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $49.41. The stock had a trading volume of 2,130,960 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,084,428. The company has a market cap of $7.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.20. The business's 50 day moving average price is $62.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Bruker Co. has a 1 year low of $48.85 and a 1 year 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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). Bruker had a return on equity of 21.52% and a net margin of 9.41%. The business had revenue of $864.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $866.46 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Bruker Co. will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.