Xponance Inc. Lowers Position in Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC)

Xponance Inc. lowered its holdings in Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,779 shares of the company’s stock after selling 245 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Brunswick were worth $849,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Peterson Wealth Services purchased a new stake in shares of Brunswick in the 4th quarter valued at about $372,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Brunswick by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 12,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,225,000 after acquiring an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Brunswick by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 15,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,460,000 after buying an additional 1,016 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Brunswick by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 30,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,972,000 after buying an additional 824 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Brunswick during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,867,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.34% of the company’s stock.

Brunswick Price Performance

Shares of BC stock opened at $79.98 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.44 and a beta of 1.56. Brunswick Co. has a fifty-two week low of $66.47 and a fifty-two week high of $99.68. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $89.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.43.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. Brunswick had a return on equity of 29.78% and a net margin of 6.57%. Brunswick’s quarterly revenue was down 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.99 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Brunswick Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Brunswick Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $0.42 dividend. This is a positive change from Brunswick’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Brunswick’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.24%.

Insider Transactions at Brunswick

In other news, EVP John G. Buelow sold 2,426 shares of Brunswick stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.12, for a total value of $211,353.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,237,016.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP John G. Buelow sold 2,426 shares of Brunswick stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.12, for a total transaction of $211,353.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,199 shares in the company, valued at $1,237,016.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO David M. Foulkes sold 35,000 shares of Brunswick stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.11, for a total value of $3,048,850.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 272,626 shares in the company, valued at $23,748,450.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 52,696 shares of company stock worth $4,574,199. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. B. Riley raised Brunswick from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Brunswick from $88.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Raymond James cut Brunswick from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $77.00 price objective on shares of Brunswick in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, BNP Paribas reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 price objective (down from $94.00) on shares of Brunswick in a report on Monday, April 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.08.

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.