William Blair Investment Management LLC Acquires 2,043 Shares of Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC)

William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) by 60.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,447 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,043 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Brunswick were worth $352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brunswick in the fourth quarter worth about $368,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Brunswick by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 766,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,578,000 after acquiring an additional 109,728 shares in the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $66,305,000 after acquiring an additional 100,412 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Brunswick by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 715,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,269,000 after purchasing an additional 14,089 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. increased its position in Brunswick by 47.5% in the third quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. now owns 240,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,128,000 after purchasing an additional 77,340 shares during the last quarter. 99.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Brunswick from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Brunswick from $95.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Benchmark decreased their price objective on Brunswick from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Brunswick from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, B. Riley upgraded Brunswick to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.62.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 value 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Nancy E. Cooper sold 433 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $28,426.45. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,664,949.65. The trade was 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 Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BC opened at $56.76 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.65. Brunswick Co. has a one year low of $54.97 and a one year high of $96.65. The firm has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a PE ratio of 29.87 and a beta of 1.54.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.06. Brunswick had a return on equity of 15.41% and a net margin of 2.48%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Brunswick Co. will post 4.19 EPS 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 is an increase from Brunswick’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. Brunswick’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.53%.

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.