Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Acquires 1,080 Shares of Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in shares of Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) by 12.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,422 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,080 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Brunswick were worth $609,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Brunswick by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,757,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,655,000 after purchasing an additional 269,413 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Brunswick by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,462,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,599,000 after buying an additional 41,583 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Brunswick by 2.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,075,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,171,000 after buying an additional 28,781 shares during the period. Channing Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Brunswick by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,025,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,305,000 after acquiring an additional 100,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Brunswick by 43.3% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 769,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,798,000 after acquiring an additional 232,622 shares during the period. 99.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Brunswick from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Benchmark lowered their target price on shares of Brunswick from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Baird R W lowered shares of Brunswick from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Brunswick from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Brunswick from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Brunswick presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.00.

Brunswick Stock Performance

Shares of BC stock opened at $41.94 on Wednesday. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $59.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.05. Brunswick Co. has a 12 month low of $41.17 and a 12 month high of $94.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a PE ratio of 22.07 and a beta of 1.42.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $1.45 earnings per share. Analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given 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 yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Brunswick’s dividend 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 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 26,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,686,632.43. This trade represents a 11.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Nancy E. Cooper sold 433 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $28,426.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,664,949.65. This trade represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Brunswick Company 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.