Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Buys 79,340 Shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) by 22.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 430,338 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 79,340 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. owned approximately 0.30% of Bruker worth $27,460,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bruker by 120.4% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 399 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bruker during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Bruker in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Bruker by 139.1% during the first 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. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Bruker in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Bruker Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of Bruker stock opened at $65.66 on Monday. Bruker Co. has a 1 year low of $53.79 and a 1 year high of $94.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The company has a 50-day moving average of $64.17 and a 200 day moving average of $73.43. The firm has a market cap of $9.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.88, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.18.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52. The business had revenue of $800.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $799.44 million. Bruker had a net margin of 11.29% and a return on equity of 24.92%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bruker Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.30%. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BRKR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Bruker in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $78.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Bruker in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Bruker from $72.00 to $60.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Bruker from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Bruker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Bruker currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.40.

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.