Royce & Associates LP Has $33.43 Million Stake in Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC)

Royce & Associates LP decreased its holdings in shares of Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 516,879 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,562 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned 0.78% of Brunswick worth $33,432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in Brunswick by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC acquired a new position in Brunswick during the fourth quarter worth about $582,000. Vestcor Inc raised its stake in Brunswick by 207.6% during the fourth quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 16,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 10,802 shares in the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. raised its stake in Brunswick by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $970,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Channing Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Brunswick by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,025,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,305,000 after acquiring an additional 100,412 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BC shares. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Brunswick from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. B. Riley raised Brunswick to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Benchmark lowered their price objective on Brunswick from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Brunswick from $95.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Brunswick from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Six 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.62.

Brunswick Stock Performance

NYSE:BC opened at $57.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a PE ratio of 30.35 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.65. Brunswick Co. has a fifty-two week low of $54.97 and a fifty-two week high of $96.65.

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

Brunswick Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. This is a boost from Brunswick’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Brunswick’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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