Xponance Inc. Increases Stake in Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC)

Xponance Inc. grew its position in Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,617 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 359 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Brunswick were worth $493,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BC. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Brunswick by 43.3% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 769,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,798,000 after buying an additional 232,622 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Brunswick by 60.0% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 5,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $352,000 after acquiring an additional 2,043 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Brunswick by 11.8% in 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 during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brunswick during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $582,000. Finally, Vestcor Inc lifted its position in Brunswick by 207.6% during the fourth quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 16,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 10,802 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.34% of the company’s stock.

Brunswick Price Performance

NYSE:BC opened at $56.22 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a PE ratio of 29.59 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. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $63.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.23. Brunswick Co. has a 52 week low of $54.97 and a 52 week high of $96.65.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 15.41% and a net margin of 2.48%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.45 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Brunswick Co. will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brunswick Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This is an increase from Brunswick’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Brunswick’s payout ratio is currently 90.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Nancy E. Cooper sold 433 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $28,426.45. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,664,949.65. The trade was a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Randall S. Altman sold 3,417 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.21, for a total transaction of $215,988.57. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BC. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Brunswick from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Brunswick from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Brunswick from $95.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Robert W. Baird set a $90.00 price target on shares of Brunswick in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Roth Mkm cut their target price on shares of Brunswick from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Brunswick presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.62.

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.