Bank of Montreal Can Sells 13,663 Shares of Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC)

Bank of Montreal Can cut its position in shares of Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) by 31.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 29,929 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,663 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Brunswick were worth $1,936,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Brunswick in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $368,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Brunswick by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,462,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,599,000 after purchasing an additional 41,583 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Brunswick by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 766,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,578,000 after buying an additional 109,728 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Brunswick during the 4th quarter worth about $2,827,000. Finally, Channing Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Brunswick by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,025,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,305,000 after buying an additional 100,412 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on BC shares. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $56.00 target price (down previously from $90.00) on shares of Brunswick in a research report on Friday, April 4th. DA Davidson upgraded Brunswick to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Brunswick from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Roth Mkm dropped their price target on shares of Brunswick from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Benchmark decreased their price objective on shares of Brunswick from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.67.

Brunswick Stock Performance

NYSE:BC opened at $43.37 on Thursday. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.41. Brunswick Co. has a 1-year low of $41.00 and a 1-year high of $87.65. The stock has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.83 and a beta of 1.42.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 earned $1.45 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Brunswick Co. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Brunswick Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This is a positive change from Brunswick’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Brunswick’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.53%.

Insider Transactions at Brunswick

In related news, SVP Randall S. Altman sold 3,417 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $1,686,632.43. This trade represents a 11.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Nancy E. Cooper sold 433 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 25,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,664,949.65. This represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

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.