Merit Financial Group LLC Has $698,000 Stock Holdings in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR - Free Report) by 226.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,722 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 11,607 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Bruker were worth $698,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of Bruker by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 317,267 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $13,243,000 after purchasing an additional 3,763 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bruker by 4,299.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 56,266 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,349,000 after buying an additional 54,987 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in Bruker by 274.9% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,091 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Bruker by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,459 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $965,000 after acquiring an additional 3,349 shares during the period. Finally, Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd acquired a new position in Bruker in the 4th quarter valued at $234,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.52% of the company's stock.

Bruker Trading Up 1.6%

BRKR opened at $38.30 on Monday. The company's 50 day moving average is $38.16 and its 200-day moving average is $48.43. The company has a market cap of $5.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.40, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.16. Bruker Co. has a 1-year low of $34.10 and a 1-year high of $72.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The medical research company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $801.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $763.83 million. Bruker had a net margin of 3.36% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Bruker Co. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Bruker's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Bruker from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Bruker in a research note on Monday, February 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Bruker from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Bruker from $57.00 to $48.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Bruker from $57.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.22.

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.

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