Brown Advisory Inc. Purchases 185,912 Shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR - Free Report) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,026,712 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 185,912 shares during the quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. owned approximately 1.34% of Bruker worth $118,806,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Bruker by 2,324.1% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 703 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 674 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Bruker by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 909 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Bruker by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,279 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Bruker by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,273 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bruker by 41.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,330 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.52% of the company's stock.

Bruker Stock Up 2.8 %

NASDAQ:BRKR opened at $40.44 on Monday. 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 cap of $6.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.23. Bruker Co. has a fifty-two week low of $34.10 and a fifty-two week high of $79.78. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.83.

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

Bruker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors 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 0.49%. Bruker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on BRKR. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating on shares of Bruker in a report on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Bruker from $75.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Bruker from $70.00 to $57.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Bruker from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Bruker from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $65.00.

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.

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