KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $886,000 in Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 13,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $886,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in Brunswick by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 43,592 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,685,000 after purchasing an additional 3,399 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Brunswick by 134.5% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,713 shares of the company's stock valued at $563,000 after acquiring an additional 3,850 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in Brunswick by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 10,422 shares of the company's stock valued at $874,000 after acquiring an additional 1,247 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in Brunswick during the 3rd quarter worth $5,280,000. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new stake in shares of Brunswick in the 3rd quarter valued at about $313,000. 99.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brunswick Stock Performance

BC stock traded down $1.06 on Friday, reaching $46.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,859,322 shares, compared to its average volume of 719,634. Brunswick Co. has a 52 week low of $42.87 and a 52 week high of $95.38. 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 $3.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.63 and a beta of 1.54. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $61.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.20.

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Brunswick (NYSE:BC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business earned $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.43 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Brunswick's dividend payout ratio is currently 90.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on BC. Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $56.00 price target (down from $90.00) on shares of Brunswick in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Brunswick from $95.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Benchmark reduced their price objective on Brunswick from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Brunswick from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Brunswick from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Randall S. Altman sold 3,417 shares of the firm's 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,686,632.43. This trade represents a 11.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Nancy E. Cooper sold 433 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $28,426.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,664,949.65. This trade represents a 1.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

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.