Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires Shares of 19,300 Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 19,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,867,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its position in Brunswick by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 2,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC grew its stake in shares of Brunswick by 6.6% during the first quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 2,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Brunswick by 4.3% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Wrapmanager Inc. grew its stake in shares of Brunswick by 5.6% during the third quarter. Wrapmanager Inc. now owns 2,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Brunswick by 2.9% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 5,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $434,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. 99.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brunswick Price Performance

Shares of BC opened at $82.09 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.80 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $89.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Brunswick Co. has a 12 month low of $66.47 and a 12 month high of $99.68.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by ($0.21). Brunswick had a net margin of 6.57% and a return on equity of 29.78%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.99 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Brunswick Co. will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Brunswick Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. This is a positive change from Brunswick’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Brunswick’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BC shares. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Brunswick from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Roth Mkm raised their target price on Brunswick from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Brunswick from $88.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. B. Riley upgraded Brunswick from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, BNP Paribas restated a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 price objective (down previously from $94.00) on shares of Brunswick in a research note on Monday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brunswick

In other Brunswick news, VP Christopher F. Dekker sold 6,234 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.53, for a total value of $526,960.02. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 35,176 shares in the company, valued at $2,973,427.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Ryan M. Gwillim sold 9,036 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.10, for a total value of $787,035.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,966 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,938.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher F. Dekker sold 6,234 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.53, for a total transaction of $526,960.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 35,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,973,427.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,696 shares of company stock worth $4,574,199. 0.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.