Natixis Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC)

Natixis Advisors LLC cut its stake in Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) by 11.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,906 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,943 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Brunswick were worth $964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BC. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Brunswick during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Financial Perspectives Inc purchased a new position in Brunswick during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Brunswick by 42.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 867 shares during the period. Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in shares of Brunswick in the third quarter valued at about $313,000. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brunswick in the fourth quarter valued at about $273,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.34% of the company’s stock.

Brunswick Stock Up 0.1 %

Brunswick stock opened at $56.29 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.62 and a beta of 1.54. 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. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $62.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.12.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company posted $1.45 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Brunswick Co. will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brunswick Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Brunswick

In other Brunswick 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 transaction of $28,426.45. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,664,949.65. This represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Randall S. Altman sold 3,417 shares of Brunswick stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.21, for a total value of $215,988.57. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 26,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,686,632.43. This 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Brunswick from $95.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup cut their price target on Brunswick from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Roth Mkm lowered their price objective on shares of Brunswick from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Brunswick from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, B. Riley upgraded shares of Brunswick to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.62.

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.