Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Acquires New Stake in Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 4,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $273,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Brunswick during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Financial Perspectives Inc bought a new stake in Brunswick during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Brunswick by 1,073.7% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 669 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 612 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Brunswick by 669.0% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 969 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Brunswick by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $170,000 after buying an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.34% of the company’s stock.

Brunswick Price Performance

Shares of Brunswick stock opened at $59.18 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $65.01 and a 200 day moving average of $74.19. Brunswick Co. has a 52 week low of $55.40 and a 52 week high of $96.65. The company has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a PE ratio of 31.15 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 (NYSE:BC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 last year, the firm posted $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Brunswick Co. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Brunswick Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. This is a boost from Brunswick’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. Brunswick’s payout ratio is presently 90.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BC. B. Riley upgraded shares of Brunswick to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Brunswick from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Brunswick from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird set a $90.00 target price on Brunswick in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Benchmark reduced their price target on shares of Brunswick from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Randall S. Altman sold 3,417 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were 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 $1,686,632.43. The trade was a 11.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Nancy E. Cooper sold 433 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 $1,664,949.65. This represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Brunswick Company 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.