HighTower Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC)

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its position in Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) by 4.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,973 shares of the company’s stock after selling 356 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Brunswick were worth $575,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Holocene Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Brunswick by 129.9% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 280,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,514,000 after buying an additional 158,493 shares during the period. Atom Investors LP boosted its holdings in Brunswick by 8.2% in the third quarter. Atom Investors LP now owns 53,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,463,000 after acquiring an additional 4,043 shares in the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new position in Brunswick during the 3rd quarter valued at $313,000. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in Brunswick in the 3rd quarter worth $5,280,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of Brunswick by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 10,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $874,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Brunswick from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Brunswick in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, B. Riley downgraded shares of Brunswick from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $88.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.54.

Insider Activity

In other Brunswick news, Director Joseph W. Mcclanathan sold 4,745 shares of Brunswick stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.14, for a total value of $380,264.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 19,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,540,130.52. The trade was a 19.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Nancy E. Cooper sold 366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.19, for a total transaction of $29,349.54. Following the sale, the director now owns 24,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,969,225.83. This represents a 1.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,940 shares of company stock valued at $2,321,176 over the last ninety days. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Brunswick Price Performance

Shares of BC opened at $66.84 on Friday. Brunswick Co. has a twelve month low of $66.77 and a twelve month high of $99.68. The company has a market capitalization of $4.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.63 and a beta of 1.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $79.76 and a 200 day moving average of $78.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Brunswick Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. Brunswick’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.79%.

About Brunswick

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.