HighTower Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC)

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,973 shares of the company’s stock after selling 356 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Brunswick were worth $575,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Brunswick by 0.5% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 26,731 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,241,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in Brunswick by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 5,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $465,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Brunswick by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Brunswick by 21.6% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Brunswick by 3.0% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 8,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $689,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. 99.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on BC shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Brunswick from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Brunswick in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, B. Riley lowered Brunswick from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $95.00 to $88.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Brunswick currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO David M. Foulkes sold 23,829 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.22, for a total value of $1,911,562.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 251,094 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,142,760.68. This represents a 8.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Nancy E. Cooper sold 366 shares of Brunswick stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.19, for a total transaction of $29,349.54. Following the sale, the director now owns 24,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,969,225.83. The trade was a 1.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 28,940 shares of company stock valued at $2,321,176. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Brunswick Stock Performance

NYSE BC opened at $66.84 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.63 and a beta of 1.50. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $79.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.21. Brunswick Co. has a fifty-two week low of $66.77 and a fifty-two week high of $99.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.97.

Brunswick Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. Brunswick’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.79%.

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.