Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $29.65 Million in Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 458,346 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,646,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.69% of Brunswick as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Brunswick during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Financial Perspectives Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Brunswick in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Brunswick by 42.8% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Brunswick during the 4th quarter worth $203,000. Finally, Summit Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brunswick during the 4th quarter worth $262,000. 99.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brunswick Stock Performance

Brunswick stock traded up $1.76 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $46.58. 274,162 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 757,639. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $54.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.25. Brunswick Co. has a 12-month low of $41.00 and a 12-month high of $87.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.65. The stock has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.52 and a beta of 1.42.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm posted $1.45 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Brunswick Co. will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Brunswick Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.43 dividend. This is a boost from Brunswick's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Brunswick's payout ratio is currently 90.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Roth Mkm cut their price target on Brunswick from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price 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 lowered their price target on Brunswick from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. DA Davidson raised shares of Brunswick to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and set a $56.00 price objective (down previously from $90.00) on shares of Brunswick in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $76.67.

Insider Transactions at Brunswick

In related news, Director Nancy E. Cooper sold 433 shares of the company's 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Randall S. Altman sold 3,417 shares of the firm's 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 trade represents a 11.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.