Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Has $48.64 Million Holdings in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) by 37.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 829,763 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 227,619 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Bruker were worth $48,641,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BRKR. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Bruker by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,287 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $779,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Bruker by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 30,725 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,801,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Bruker by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,233 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Bruker by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 909 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Bruker by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,164 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BRKR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Bruker from $69.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Bruker in a report on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Bruker from $70.00 to $57.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Bruker from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.50.

Bruker Price Performance

Shares of BRKR opened at $42.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.38 billion, a PE ratio of 55.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.01. Bruker Co. has a 52-week low of $41.80 and a 52-week high of $94.35.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical research company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.01. Bruker had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 21.01%. Sell-side analysts predict that Bruker Co. will post 2.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.32%.

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.