Vanguard Group Inc. Trims Stock Position in Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC)

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,105,639 shares of the company’s stock after selling 54,635 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 10.33% of Brunswick worth $687,471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Palogic Value Management L.P. raised its position in Brunswick by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Palogic Value Management L.P. now owns 25,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,489,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Glenview Capital Management LLC raised its position in Brunswick by 41.2% in the 4th quarter. Glenview Capital Management LLC now owns 360,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,896,000 after purchasing an additional 105,327 shares during the last quarter. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Brunswick in the 4th quarter valued at $5,777,000. Barden Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Brunswick by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,524,000 after purchasing an additional 2,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Garner Asset Management Corp raised its position in Brunswick by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 56,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,510,000 after purchasing an additional 4,946 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on BC shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Brunswick from $91.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Brunswick in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. BNP Paribas reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective (down from $94.00) on shares of Brunswick in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $94.00 price objective on shares of Brunswick in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $77.00 price objective on shares of Brunswick in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.38.

Brunswick Stock Performance

NYSE:BC opened at $74.17 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Brunswick Co. has a fifty-two week low of $66.47 and a fifty-two week high of $99.68. The stock has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a PE ratio of 13.79 and a beta of 1.55. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $80.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.24.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by ($0.01). Brunswick had a return on equity of 25.37% and a net margin of 6.24%. The company had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Brunswick Co. will post 7.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brunswick Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Brunswick’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Brenna Preisser sold 1,225 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.09, for a total value of $100,560.25. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 58,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,767,458.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Brunswick news, Director Nancy E. Cooper sold 357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.34, for a total value of $28,681.38. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,864,771.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Brenna Preisser sold 1,225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.09, for a total transaction of $100,560.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 58,076 shares in the company, valued at $4,767,458.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

About Brunswick

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.