Xponance Inc. Boosts Holdings in Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC)

Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,617 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 359 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Brunswick were worth $493,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BC. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Brunswick by 10.9% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 16,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,412,000 after purchasing an additional 1,652 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its stake in Brunswick by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 28,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,429,000 after buying an additional 2,030 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Brunswick by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 701,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,780,000 after buying an additional 1,765 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in Brunswick by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 326,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,378,000 after buying an additional 1,980 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Brunswick by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 5,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $466,000 after buying an additional 671 shares during the period. 99.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BC. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Brunswick from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. B. Riley raised Brunswick to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup dropped 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. Roth Mkm decreased their price objective on Brunswick from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $90.00 target price on shares of Brunswick in a report on Friday, January 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Brunswick presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.62.

Brunswick Price Performance

NYSE BC opened at $56.22 on Wednesday. Brunswick Co. has a 12-month low of $54.97 and a 12-month high of $96.65. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.59 and a beta of 1.54.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC) last released its earnings results 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.45 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Brunswick Co. will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brunswick Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. This is a positive change from Brunswick’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Brunswick’s payout ratio is 90.53%.

Insider Activity at Brunswick

In other news, Director Nancy E. Cooper sold 433 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $28,426.45. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Randall S. Altman sold 3,417 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 26,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,686,632.43. The trade was 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.