Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) Shares Sold by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB trimmed its holdings in shares of Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 311,200 shares of the company’s stock after selling 29,500 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned about 0.45% of Brunswick worth $30,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Brunswick by 140.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,435,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,393,000 after purchasing an additional 2,006,578 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Brunswick during the fourth quarter worth $53,519,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Brunswick by 127.6% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 866,226 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,432,000 after purchasing an additional 485,588 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Brunswick by 100.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 953,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,749,000 after purchasing an additional 478,329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brunswick during the first quarter worth $17,428,000. 99.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BNP Paribas reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 target price (down from $94.00) on shares of Brunswick in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Raymond James cut shares of Brunswick from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Brunswick from $88.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. B. Riley raised shares of Brunswick from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $100.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $77.00 price target on shares of Brunswick in a report on Friday, March 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.08.

Brunswick Stock Up 2.3 %

BC stock opened at $83.94 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Brunswick Co. has a 1-year low of $66.47 and a 1-year high of $99.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $89.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.63. The firm has a market cap of $5.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.11 and a beta of 1.56.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.66 by ($0.21). Brunswick had a net margin of 6.57% and a return on equity of 29.78%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Brunswick Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Brunswick Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. This is a positive change from Brunswick’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Brunswick’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.24%.

Insider Transactions at Brunswick

In other news, CEO David M. Foulkes sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.11, for a total transaction of $3,048,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 272,626 shares in the company, valued at $23,748,450.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Christopher F. Dekker sold 6,234 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.53, for a total value of $526,960.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 35,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,427.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO David M. Foulkes sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.11, for a total transaction of $3,048,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 272,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,748,450.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 52,696 shares of company stock worth $4,574,199. 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.