KBC Group NV Increases Stake in Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC)

KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,025 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 361 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Brunswick were worth $170,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BC. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brunswick in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Brunswick by 669.0% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Brunswick by 92.5% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Brunswick by 47.0% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Brunswick by 21.6% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. 99.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO David M. Foulkes sold 23,829 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.22, for a total transaction of $1,911,562.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 251,094 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,142,760.68. This trade represents a 8.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Nancy E. Cooper sold 366 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.19, for a total value of $29,349.54. Following the sale, the director now owns 24,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,969,225.83. This represents a 1.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 28,940 shares of company stock worth $2,321,176 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Brunswick Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:BC opened at $78.45 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a PE ratio of 19.51 and a beta of 1.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $81.64 and a 200-day moving average of $78.79. Brunswick Co. has a 52 week low of $69.05 and a 52 week high of $99.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Brunswick Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. Brunswick’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Brunswick in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Brunswick in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Brunswick from $95.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 price target on shares of Brunswick in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Brunswick from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Brunswick has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.23.

Brunswick 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.