Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) Shares Sold by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC cut its position in Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC - Free Report) by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,795 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,947 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.12% of Brunswick worth $4,967,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FIL Ltd grew its position in Brunswick by 323.9% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,114,324 shares of the company's stock valued at $72,074,000 after acquiring an additional 851,449 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Brunswick during the fourth quarter worth about $30,097,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Brunswick in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,646,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew 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 valued at $113,655,000 after purchasing an additional 269,413 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lightrock Netherlands B.V. purchased a new stake in Brunswick during the 4th quarter worth approximately $16,400,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Brunswick from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. B. Riley upgraded Brunswick to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Brunswick from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Roth Mkm reduced their price target on Brunswick from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Brunswick from $85.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Brunswick news, SVP Randall S. Altman sold 3,417 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 26,683 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,686,632.43. This trade represents a 11.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Brunswick Stock Down 0.4%

BC stock traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $52.99. 845,198 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 786,525. The company has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.89 and a beta of 1.28. 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 1-year low of $41.00 and a 1-year high of $87.65. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $49.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.96.

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

Brunswick Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. Brunswick's dividend payout ratio is presently 142.15%.

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.