American Century Companies Inc. Raises Stake in Brunswick Corporation $BC

American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Brunswick Corporation (NYSE:BC) by 56.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,302,918 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 830,451 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 3.54% of Brunswick worth $145,637,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in Brunswick during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in Brunswick by 50.6% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Brunswick during the third quarter valued at $37,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in Brunswick during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Brunswick by 103.5% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period. 99.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brunswick Stock Down 3.6%

NYSE:BC opened at $79.52 on Monday. Brunswick Corporation has a 1-year low of $41.00 and a 1-year high of $90.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -37.51 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $83.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.11.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.58. Brunswick had a positive return on equity of 12.22% and a negative net margin of 2.56%.The company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.24 earnings per share. Brunswick’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Brunswick Corporation will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Brunswick Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd will be paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from Brunswick’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Brunswick’s dividend payout ratio is -83.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BC shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $115.00 price target on Brunswick and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Griffin Securities set a $76.00 price objective on Brunswick in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 target price (up from $79.00) on shares of Brunswick in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $82.00 target price on shares of Brunswick in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Brunswick from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, December 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO David M. Foulkes sold 38,266 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.56, for a total value of $3,312,304.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 271,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,472,388.64. This trade represents a 12.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher F. Dekker sold 4,981 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.38, for a total value of $435,239.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 39,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,472,481.20. This represents a 11.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Brunswick Profile

Founded in 1845 by John Moses Brunswick, Brunswick Corporation is a global leader in recreation products. Headquartered in Mettawa, Illinois, the company has evolved from its origins as a billiard table manufacturer into a diversified supplier of leisure equipment, serving both consumer and commercial markets around the world.

Brunswick operates through two primary segments: Marine and Bowling & Billiards. In its Marine segment, the company designs, manufactures and distributes recreational boats, outboard engines and aftermarket parts under recognized brands such as Sea Ray, Bayliner and Mercury Marine.