First Trust Advisors LP Has $17.98 Million Stock Holdings in Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC)

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its stake in shares of Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC - Free Report) by 24.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 277,929 shares of the company's stock after selling 91,984 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.42% of Brunswick worth $17,976,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Brunswick in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Financial Perspectives Inc acquired a new position in Brunswick in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in Brunswick by 42.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,892 shares of the company's stock worth $187,000 after purchasing an additional 867 shares in the last quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Brunswick during the 4th quarter valued at $203,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Brunswick by 52.0% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 4,001 shares of the company's stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 1,369 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.34% of the company's stock.

Brunswick Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of BC traded up $1.18 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $47.51. 456,386 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 977,636. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.65. The company has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a PE ratio of 25.00 and a beta of 1.42. The firm's 50 day moving average is $51.89 and its 200-day moving average is $65.65. Brunswick Co. has a 52 week low of $41.00 and a 52 week high of $87.65.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.31. Brunswick had a return on equity of 15.41% and a net margin of 2.48%. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.35 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Brunswick Co. will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brunswick Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. This is a boost from Brunswick's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Brunswick's dividend payout ratio is 142.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Roth Mkm lowered their price target on Brunswick from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. B. Riley raised Brunswick to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Brunswick from $85.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Brunswick from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of Brunswick from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Nancy E. Cooper sold 433 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total transaction of $28,426.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,361 shares in the company, valued at $1,664,949.65. This represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $215,988.57. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 26,683 shares in the company, valued at $1,686,632.43. This represents a 11.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,279 shares of company stock valued at $264,475. 0.81% of the stock is owned by 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.