Insider Buying: Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) CEO Purchases $5,014,000.00 in Stock

Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) CEO Frank H. Laukien purchased 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $50.14 per share, with a total value of $5,014,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 38,439,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,927,359,688.82. This represents a 0.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Bruker Stock Up 5.2 %

BRKR stock opened at $56.17 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $61.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.00, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.20. Bruker Co. has a one year low of $48.07 and a one year high of $94.86.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.01). Bruker had a net margin of 9.41% and a return on equity of 21.52%. The business had revenue of $864.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $866.46 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. Bruker’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bruker Co. will post 2.4 EPS for the current year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. Bruker’s payout ratio is currently 9.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on BRKR shares. Citigroup reduced their target price on Bruker from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Bruker from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Wolfe Research downgraded Bruker from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. TD Cowen cut their price target 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 lowered their price objective 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.36.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bruker

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BRKR. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Bruker by 139.1% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 361 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Bruker by 120.4% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 399 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in Bruker by 4,636.4% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 521 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Bruker by 115.3% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 661 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the period. Finally, Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Bruker in the 2nd quarter valued at about $52,000. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.