Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) Shares Bought by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) by 60.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,447 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,043 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Brunswick were worth $352,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BC. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Brunswick in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Financial Perspectives Inc purchased a new stake in Brunswick during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Brunswick by 1,073.7% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Brunswick by 21.7% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Brunswick during the fourth quarter worth about $273,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Brunswick from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Brunswick from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Roth Mkm cut their price target on Brunswick from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. B. Riley raised Brunswick to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $90.00 target price on Brunswick in a report on Friday, January 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.62.

Brunswick Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Brunswick stock opened at $56.76 on Thursday. Brunswick Co. has a twelve month low of $54.97 and a twelve month high of $96.65. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $63.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a PE ratio of 29.87 and a beta of 1.54.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.06. Brunswick had a return on equity of 15.41% and a net margin of 2.48%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.45 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Brunswick Co. will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brunswick Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.43 dividend. This is an increase from Brunswick’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Brunswick’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Nancy E. Cooper sold 433 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $28,426.45. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,664,949.65. The trade was a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Randall S. Altman sold 3,417 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.21, for a total transaction of $215,988.57. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 26,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,686,632.43. The trade was a 11.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Brunswick Company Profile

Brunswick Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets recreation products in the United States, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Propulsion, Engine P&A, Navico Group, and Boat. The Propulsion segment provides outboard, sterndrive, inboard engines, propulsion-related controls, rigging, and propellers for boat builders through marine retail dealers under the Mercury, Mercury MerCruiser, Mariner, Mercury Racing, Mercury Diesel, Avator, and Fliteboard brands.