Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) Shares Sold by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Baird Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 57,697 shares of the company’s stock after selling 702 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.09% of Brunswick worth $3,732,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Brunswick by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,861 shares of the company’s stock valued at $638,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Brunswick by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Brunswick by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 7,617 shares of the company’s stock valued at $493,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Brunswick by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 18,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,170,000 after buying an additional 447 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in Brunswick by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $351,000 after buying an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Randall S. Altman sold 3,417 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.21, for a total value of $215,988.57. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 26,683 shares in the company, valued at $1,686,632.43. The trade was a 11.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BC has been the subject of several research reports. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Brunswick in a research note on Monday, April 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Baird R W downgraded Brunswick from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Brunswick from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $43.00 target price (down from $64.00) on shares of Brunswick in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Brunswick from $64.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned 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 $71.00.

Brunswick Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BC opened at $48.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 0.63. Brunswick Co. has a 12 month low of $41.00 and a 12 month high of $87.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.31 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $50.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.08.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Brunswick had a return on equity of 15.41% and a net margin of 2.48%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.35 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Brunswick Co. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brunswick Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Brunswick’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 142.15%.

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.