Brunswick (NYSE:BC) Given New $78.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC) had its price objective boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $73.00 to $78.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $85.00 target price on shares of Brunswick in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Brunswick from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 price target (up from $70.00) on shares of Brunswick in a report on Friday, January 30th. Loop Capital assumed coverage on Brunswick in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $74.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Brunswick in a report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.57.

Brunswick Price Performance

NYSE:BC opened at $71.36 on Monday. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $83.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.82. Brunswick has a 1-year low of $41.00 and a 1-year high of $90.25. The firm has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.66 and a beta of 1.39.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58. Brunswick had a negative net margin of 2.56% and a positive return on equity of 12.22%. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.24 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Brunswick will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Brunswick Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is a boost from Brunswick’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Brunswick’s payout ratio is currently -83.02%.

Insider Transactions at Brunswick

In other Brunswick news, VP Christopher F. Dekker sold 4,981 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.38, for a total transaction of $435,239.78. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 39,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,472,481.20. The trade was a 11.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David M. Foulkes sold 38,266 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $23,472,388.64. The trade was a 12.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Brunswick

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BC. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Brunswick by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,572,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,252,000 after purchasing an additional 78,228 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Brunswick by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,848,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,469,000 after purchasing an additional 98,972 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Brunswick by 56.4% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,302,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,637,000 after purchasing an additional 830,451 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Brunswick by 30.6% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,921,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,651,000 after buying an additional 449,943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Brunswick by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,866,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,597,000 after buying an additional 14,822 shares in the last quarter. 99.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brunswick Company 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.