Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Acquires 232,622 Shares of Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) by 43.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 769,907 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 232,622 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 1.17% of Brunswick worth $49,798,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Brunswick by 60.0% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 5,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 2,043 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in Brunswick by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC acquired a new position in Brunswick in the 4th quarter worth about $582,000. Vestcor Inc increased its holdings in Brunswick by 207.6% in the 4th quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 16,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 10,802 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Markel Group Inc. increased its holdings in Brunswick by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $970,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.34% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Randall S. Altman sold 3,417 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.21, for a total value of $215,988.57. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 26,683 shares in the company, valued at $1,686,632.43. This trade represents a 11.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Nancy E. Cooper sold 433 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.65, for a total value of $28,426.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,361 shares in the company, valued at $1,664,949.65. This represents a 1.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Brunswick Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE BC opened at $56.76 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.84. Brunswick Co. has a one year low of $54.97 and a one year high of $96.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.87 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 0.63.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.06. Brunswick had a return on equity of 15.41% and a net margin of 2.48%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.45 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Brunswick Co. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current 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 $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. This is a positive change from Brunswick’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Brunswick’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Brunswick from $95.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Roth Mkm decreased their price target on Brunswick from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Brunswick from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Brunswick from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, B. Riley raised Brunswick to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.62.

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.