American Century Companies Inc. Grows Stock Position in Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC)

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,462,558 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 41,583 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Brunswick were worth $94,599,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BC. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Brunswick during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Financial Perspectives Inc purchased a new stake in Brunswick during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Brunswick by 1,073.7% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 669 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 612 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its position in Brunswick by 42.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,000 after buying an additional 867 shares during the period. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Brunswick in the fourth quarter valued at about $273,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Randall S. Altman sold 3,417 shares of Brunswick stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.21, for a total value of $215,988.57. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 26,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,686,632.43. The trade was a 11.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Nancy E. Cooper sold 433 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly 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. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on BC shares. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Brunswick from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup decreased their target price on Brunswick from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Brunswick from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Roth Mkm decreased their price objective on shares of Brunswick from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, B. Riley raised shares of Brunswick to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.62.

Brunswick Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BC opened at $57.87 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a PE ratio of 30.46 and a beta of 1.54. Brunswick Co. has a 12 month low of $54.97 and a 12 month high of $96.65.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $1.45 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Brunswick Co. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Brunswick Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.43 dividend. This is a positive change from Brunswick’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Brunswick’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.53%.

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.