Royce & Associates LP Reduces Stock Holdings in Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC)

Royce & Associates LP decreased its position in Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 516,879 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,562 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Brunswick were worth $33,432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BC. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Brunswick during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Financial Perspectives Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Brunswick during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 612 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Brunswick by 21.7% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brunswick during the fourth quarter worth $273,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.34% of the company’s stock.

Brunswick Stock Up 2.6 %

BC opened at $57.66 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a PE ratio of 30.35 and a beta of 1.54. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $54.97 and a 52 week high of $96.65. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.29.

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

Brunswick Increases Dividend

The business 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. This is a boost from Brunswick’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Brunswick’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on BC. Citigroup dropped 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. B. Riley upgraded Brunswick to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $90.00 price objective on Brunswick in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Benchmark lowered their price objective on Brunswick from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Brunswick from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.62.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Nancy E. Cooper sold 433 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $28,426.45. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Randall S. Altman sold 3,417 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.21, for a total transaction of $215,988.57. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 26,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,686,632.43. This represents a 11.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

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.