Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR) Position Increased by Brown Advisory Inc.

Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake in Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR - Free Report) by 18.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,410,137 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 383,425 shares during the quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. owned about 1.59% of Bruker worth $100,599,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Bruker by 54.2% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,109 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Bruker by 81.2% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 29,826 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,245,000 after buying an additional 13,367 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Bruker by 29.0% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,514 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Bruker by 45.8% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,325 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in shares of Bruker by 95.1% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 190,855 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $11,188,000 after buying an additional 93,048 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.52% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BRKR shares. Barclays lowered their target price on Bruker from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Bruker from $57.00 to $48.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Bruker from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Bruker from $61.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Bruker from $57.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $52.89.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Frank H. Laukien purchased 2,608 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $38.36 per share, with a total value of $100,042.88. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 38,462,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,475,408,879.56. This trade represents a 0.01% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 27.30% of the company's stock.

Bruker Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BRKR traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $43.79. 3,517,253 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,754,209. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.65. Bruker Corporation has a 52 week low of $34.10 and a 52 week high of $72.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.18.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The medical research company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. Bruker had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 2.31%. The company had revenue of $801.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $763.83 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.53 EPS. Bruker's quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Bruker Corporation will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Bruker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.46%.

Bruker 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.