Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 11,947 Shares of Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC)

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 76,795 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,947 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Brunswick were worth $4,967,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Brunswick by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,084,038 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,796,000 after acquiring an additional 10,951 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Brunswick by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,757,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,655,000 after acquiring an additional 269,413 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Brunswick by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,462,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,599,000 after acquiring an additional 41,583 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in Brunswick by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,338,619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,582,000 after acquiring an additional 59,228 shares during the period. Finally, FIL Ltd raised its holdings in Brunswick by 323.9% during 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 during the period. 99.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BC. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $56.00 target price (down previously from $90.00) on shares of Brunswick in a report on Friday, April 4th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Brunswick from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Brunswick from $64.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Brunswick from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Brunswick in a report on Monday, April 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Seven 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Brunswick news, SVP Randall S. Altman sold 3,417 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 26,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,686,632.43. This represents a 11.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Brunswick Stock Down 0.0%

BC stock opened at $52.14 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company’s 50 day moving average is $49.77 and its 200 day moving average is $63.41. The stock has a market cap of $3.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.44 and a beta of 1.28. Brunswick Co. has a 1-year low of $41.00 and a 1-year high of $87.65.

Brunswick (NYSE:BC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. Brunswick had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 15.41%. Brunswick’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.35 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Brunswick Co. will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brunswick Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Brunswick’s dividend payout ratio is currently 142.15%.

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.