Lodge Hill Capital LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC)

Lodge Hill Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) by 59.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 399,290 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 149,290 shares during the quarter. Brunswick comprises approximately 7.1% of Lodge Hill Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Lodge Hill Capital LLC owned 0.61% of Brunswick worth $25,826,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in Brunswick by 323.9% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,114,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,074,000 after buying an additional 851,449 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Brunswick during the fourth quarter worth $30,097,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Brunswick in the fourth quarter worth $29,646,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 269,413 shares during the period. Finally, Lightrock Netherlands B.V. purchased a new position in shares of Brunswick in the fourth quarter valued at $16,400,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Brunswick news, SVP Randall S. Altman sold 3,417 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 26,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,686,632.43. This represents a 11.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Nancy E. Cooper sold 433 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $1,664,949.65. This trade represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Brunswick Trading Down 0.2 %

BC stock opened at $43.37 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a PE ratio of 22.83 and a beta of 1.42. 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 $41.00 and a one year high of $87.65. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $56.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.41.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC) last issued 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 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Brunswick Co. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brunswick Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This is a boost from Brunswick’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. Brunswick’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Roth Mkm reduced their target price on Brunswick from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. B. Riley raised shares of Brunswick to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Benchmark lowered 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. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $56.00 target price (down from $90.00) on shares of Brunswick in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Brunswick from $95.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.67.

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.