Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Boosts Stake in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in Bruker Co. (NASDAQ:BRKR) by 39.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 602,144 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 171,806 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. owned approximately 0.40% of Bruker worth $41,584,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Bruker by 127.8% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,389,537 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $88,666,000 after acquiring an additional 779,549 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Bruker during the second quarter worth $36,472,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Bruker by 123.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 555,468 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,444,000 after purchasing an additional 307,021 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Bruker by 78.3% during the second quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 593,091 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $37,845,000 after purchasing an additional 260,363 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Europe London LLP grew its holdings in shares of Bruker by 262.9% in the second quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP now owns 333,997 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $21,312,000 after purchasing an additional 241,959 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BRKR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Bruker from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Bruker from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Wolfe Research cut Bruker from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Bruker from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Bruker from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bruker

In related news, CEO Frank H. Laukien acquired 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $50.14 per share, with a total value of $5,014,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 38,439,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,927,359,688.82. This trade represents a 0.26 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 28.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Bruker Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ BRKR opened at $57.07 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $61.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.54. Bruker Co. has a 1-year low of $48.07 and a 1-year high of $94.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 1.20.

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $864.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $866.46 million. Bruker had a net margin of 9.41% and a return on equity of 21.52%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Bruker Co. will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bruker Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Bruker’s payout ratio is 9.62%.

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.