Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) Shares Sold by Bridgewater Advisors Inc.

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. decreased its position in shares of Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,817 shares of the company’s stock after selling 243 shares during the period. Bridgewater Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Brunswick were worth $1,337,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BC. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Brunswick in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Brunswick by 14,566.7% in the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Brunswick in the fourth quarter valued at $52,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of Brunswick by 17.9% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Brunswick by 40.6% during the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.34% of the company’s stock.

Brunswick Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BC traded down $1.45 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $80.66. The company had a trading volume of 465,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 748,040. Brunswick Co. has a 12 month low of $66.47 and a 12 month high of $99.68. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $88.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $5.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.99 and a beta of 1.56.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by ($0.01). Brunswick had a net margin of 6.24% and a return on equity of 25.37%. The firm had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.57 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 21.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Brunswick Co. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brunswick Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. This is a boost from Brunswick’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Brunswick’s payout ratio is 31.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John G. Buelow sold 2,426 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.12, for a total value of $211,353.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,237,016.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Ryan M. Gwillim sold 9,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.10, for a total value of $787,035.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,522,938.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John G. Buelow sold 2,426 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.12, for a total transaction of $211,353.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,237,016.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,696 shares of company stock worth $4,574,199. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. B. Riley raised shares of Brunswick from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $100.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Brunswick from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Raymond James downgraded Brunswick from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $77.00 price target on shares of Brunswick in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Brunswick from $88.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Five 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, Brunswick currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.83.

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.