California Public Employees Retirement System Reduces Position in Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC)

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its stake in Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 120,966 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,583 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Brunswick were worth $7,824,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Brunswick Stock Down 3.3 %

NYSE BC opened at $45.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $60.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.53. Brunswick Co. has a one year low of $42.83 and a one year high of $94.70. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.75 and a beta of 1.42.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 earned $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Brunswick Co. will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brunswick Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This is a boost from Brunswick’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Brunswick’s payout ratio is presently 90.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brunswick

In related news, SVP Randall S. Altman sold 3,417 shares of Brunswick stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Nancy E. Cooper sold 433 shares of the 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 directly owns 25,361 shares in the company, valued at $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. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Brunswick from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Brunswick from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lowered their price objective 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 cut their target price on Brunswick from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, B. Riley raised Brunswick to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.00.

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.