Vestcor Inc Lowers Stock Holdings in Brunswick Corporation (NYSE:BC)

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc significantly reduced its stake in Brunswick Corporation by 73.9%, selling 11,832 shares and lowering its holdings to 4,174 shares worth approximately $225,000.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, which translates to an annualized rate of $1.72 and a yield of 2.9%.
• Brunswick reported earnings per share of $1.16 for the latest quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, with quarterly revenue reaching $1.45 billion.

Vestcor Inc reduced its holdings in shares of Brunswick Corporation (NYSE:BC - Free Report) by 73.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,174 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,832 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Brunswick were worth $225,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of Brunswick by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 28,031 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,813,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Brunswick by 33.3% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,078 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Services raised its position in shares of Brunswick by 2.5% during the first quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 13,599 shares of the company's stock worth $732,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Brunswick by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,297 shares of the company's stock worth $407,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Brunswick by 59.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. 99.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on BC shares. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and issued a $68.00 price target (up from $61.00) on shares of Brunswick in a report on Monday, June 16th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Brunswick from $85.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Benchmark assumed coverage on Brunswick in a research note on Monday, April 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Brunswick from $64.00 to $45.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Brunswick from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $68.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Christopher F. Dekker sold 2,092 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total value of $122,319.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 44,466 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,599,927.02. This represents a 4.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

Brunswick Trading Down 0.2%

BC traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $57.11. 165,602 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 965,121. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.35 and a beta of 1.28. Brunswick Corporation has a 1-year low of $41.00 and a 1-year high of $87.65. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $57.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.27. Brunswick had a return on equity of 10.73% and a net margin of 0.82%. The firm had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.80 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Brunswick Corporation will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brunswick Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. Brunswick's dividend payout ratio is 277.42%.

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.