Franklin Resources Inc. Reduces Position in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its holdings in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) by 68.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. 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 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Bruker by 4,636.4% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 521 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Bruker by 115.3% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 661 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the period. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Bruker during the second quarter valued at about $52,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bruker by 81.0% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 867 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Bruker in the third quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bruker news, CEO Frank H. Laukien purchased 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $50.14 per share, with a total value of $5,014,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 38,439,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,927,359,688.82. The trade was a 0.26 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 28.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Bruker Price Performance

BRKR opened at $58.50 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.18. The firm has a market cap of $8.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.13, a PEG ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.18. Bruker Co. has a 1 year low of $48.07 and a 1 year high of $94.86.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last issued its 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). Bruker had a return on equity of 21.52% and a net margin of 9.41%. The firm 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 business posted $0.74 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Bruker Co. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on BRKR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Bruker from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Wolfe Research cut Bruker from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group began coverage on Bruker in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $66.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Bruker from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Bruker in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Bruker has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.45.

About Bruker

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.