Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) Stake Lowered by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) by 2.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,493 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 183 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Bruker were worth $591,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Bruker by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 721,333 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $56,870,000 after buying an additional 8,393 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Bruker by 23.2% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 351,198 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,678,000 after buying an additional 66,059 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp bought a new position in Bruker during the 1st quarter valued at $304,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in Bruker by 739.1% during the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 21,396 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,687,000 after purchasing an additional 18,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forte Capital LLC ADV boosted its stake in Bruker by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 6,078 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. 79.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Frank H. Laukien sold 37,947 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.81, for a total value of $2,459,345.07. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 38,217,344 shares in the company, valued at $2,476,866,064.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Frank H. Laukien sold 37,947 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.81, for a total value of $2,459,345.07. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 38,217,344 shares in the company, valued at $2,476,866,064.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Gerald N. Herman sold 14,242 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.42, for a total value of $1,074,131.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 36,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,749,964.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 28.20% of the company’s stock.

Bruker Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BRKR opened at $63.02 on Friday. Bruker Co. has a one year low of $48.42 and a one year high of $84.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $68.73 and a 200-day moving average of $73.05. The company has a market capitalization of $9.25 billion, a PE ratio of 29.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 2.08.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The medical research company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. Bruker had a return on equity of 33.24% and a net margin of 11.76%. The company had revenue of $681.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $647.82 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Bruker Co. will post 2.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 31st. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.32%. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Bruker in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bruker presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.50.

Bruker Profile

Bruker Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and distributes scientific instruments, and analytical and diagnostic solutions in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Bruker Scientific Instruments (BSI) BioSpin, BSI CALID, BSI NANO, and Bruker Energy & Supercon Technologies.