Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) Shares Purchased by Vestcor Inc

Vestcor Inc boosted its holdings in Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) by 207.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 16,006 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,802 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Brunswick were worth $1,035,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Brunswick in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Financial Perspectives Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Brunswick during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Brunswick by 1,073.7% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 669 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Brunswick by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Brunswick during the 4th quarter worth about $273,000. 99.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on BC shares. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Brunswick from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Brunswick from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Brunswick from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Brunswick from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, B. Riley raised shares of Brunswick to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.62.

Brunswick Trading Up 2.6 %

BC opened at $57.66 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.35 and a beta of 1.54. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $64.19 and its 200-day moving average is $73.29. Brunswick Co. has a 52-week low of $54.97 and a 52-week high of $96.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.06. Brunswick had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 15.41%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.45 EPS. Analysts expect that Brunswick Co. will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brunswick Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. This is a positive change from Brunswick’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Brunswick’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Randall S. Altman sold 3,417 shares of Brunswick stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.21, for a total value of $215,988.57. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 26,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,686,632.43. The trade was a 11.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Nancy E. Cooper sold 433 shares of Brunswick stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $28,426.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,664,949.65. This trade represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. 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.