Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) Shares Sold by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR - Free Report) by 35.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,780 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 16,267 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Bruker were worth $2,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atria Investments Inc bought a new stake in shares of Bruker during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,142,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Bruker during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,472,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Bruker by 1,694.4% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 202,733 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $12,936,000 after acquiring an additional 191,435 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bruker by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 166,561 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $10,628,000 after acquiring an additional 8,346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Bruker by 48.5% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 301,251 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $19,223,000 after purchasing an additional 98,427 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.52% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Frank H. Laukien acquired 100,000 shares of Bruker stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 38,439,563 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,927,359,688.82. The trade was a 0.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 28.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on BRKR shares. Barclays decreased their target price on Bruker from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wolfe Research downgraded Bruker from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup dropped their price target 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 decreased their price objective on Bruker from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Bruker from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $79.36.

Bruker Price Performance

Shares of Bruker stock traded up $1.90 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $58.97. 1,079,148 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,105,144. The business has a 50-day moving average of $61.46 and a 200 day moving average of $64.54. Bruker Co. has a fifty-two week low of $48.07 and a fifty-two week high of $94.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.94 billion, a PE ratio of 27.44, a PEG ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 1.20. 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 results 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $866.46 million. Bruker had a net margin of 9.41% and a return on equity of 21.52%. Bruker'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 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.34%. Bruker's payout ratio is 9.62%.

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.