Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) Holdings Raised by Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) by 38.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,884 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,463 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Brunswick were worth $575,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Brunswick by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,861 shares of the company’s stock valued at $638,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brunswick by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brunswick by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 18,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its stake in Brunswick by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 24,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,028,000 after buying an additional 551 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Brunswick

In related news, SVP Randall S. Altman sold 3,417 shares of Brunswick 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 26,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,686,632.43. This trade represents a 11.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Nancy E. Cooper sold 433 shares of Brunswick stock in a transaction dated 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Roth Mkm lowered their target price on shares of Brunswick from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Brunswick from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. B. Riley upgraded shares of Brunswick to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $90.00 target price on shares of Brunswick in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Brunswick from $95.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brunswick presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.62.

Brunswick Price Performance

NYSE:BC opened at $58.82 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $64.90 and a 200-day moving average of $74.04. The company has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.96 and a beta of 1.54. Brunswick Co. has a 52 week low of $55.40 and a 52 week high of $96.65. 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 (NYSE:BC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Brunswick Co. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brunswick Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. This is an increase from Brunswick’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. Brunswick’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.