FIL Ltd Purchases 851,449 Shares of Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC)

FIL Ltd increased its position in shares of Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC - Free Report) by 323.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,114,324 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 851,449 shares during the quarter. FIL Ltd owned approximately 1.69% of Brunswick worth $72,074,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Brunswick during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,097,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Brunswick during the 4th quarter worth $29,646,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Brunswick by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,757,186 shares of the company's stock valued at $113,655,000 after purchasing an additional 269,413 shares in the last quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. acquired a new position in shares of Brunswick during the fourth quarter worth about $16,400,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of Brunswick by 43.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.34% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Randall S. Altman sold 3,417 shares of Brunswick stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.21, for a total transaction of $215,988.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 26,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,686,632.43. This trade represents a 11.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Nancy E. Cooper sold 433 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $28,426.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,361 shares in the company, valued at $1,664,949.65. The trade was a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

Brunswick Price Performance

Shares of BC traded down $1.06 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $43.65. The company had a trading volume of 304,329 shares, compared to its average volume of 747,540. The company's 50-day moving average is $56.98 and its 200-day moving average is $68.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.97 and a beta of 1.42. Brunswick Co. has a twelve month low of $41.00 and a twelve month high of $87.81.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 15.41%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.45 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Brunswick Co. will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Brunswick Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This is a positive change from Brunswick's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.94%. Brunswick's dividend payout ratio is presently 90.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on Brunswick from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Brunswick from $85.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Benchmark decreased their price target on shares of Brunswick from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Brunswick from $95.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of Brunswick from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.08.

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.