Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) Stock Position Lessened by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) by 17.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 106,774 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,957 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Brunswick were worth $10,305,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Brunswick in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Brunswick during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Brunswick by 249.5% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Brunswick by 347.4% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Brunswick by 43,700.0% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brunswick

In other Brunswick news, VP Brenna Preisser sold 1,225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.09, for a total value of $100,560.25. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 58,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,767,458.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Brunswick news, VP Brenna Preisser sold 1,225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.09, for a total value of $100,560.25. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 58,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,767,458.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Nancy E. Cooper sold 357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.34, for a total value of $28,681.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,864,771.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on BC shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on Brunswick from $100.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Brunswick in a research note on Friday. BNP Paribas reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $82.00 price target (down previously from $94.00) on shares of Brunswick in a research report on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Brunswick from $78.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Brunswick in a research report on Friday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.57.

Brunswick Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of BC traded up $0.96 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $79.98. 1,573,593 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 977,837. Brunswick Co. has a 12-month low of $66.47 and a 12-month high of $99.68. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a market cap of $5.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.87 and a beta of 1.52.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.10). Brunswick had a net margin of 5.92% and a return on equity of 23.46%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Brunswick Co. will post 6.13 EPS for the current year.

Brunswick Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. Brunswick’s payout ratio is 31.23%.

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.