BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Boosts Holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 67.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 20,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,265 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $1,333,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Maseco LLP purchased a new position in Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director H Palmer Proctor, Jr. bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $57.10 per share, for a total transaction of $114,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 47,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,719,159.10. The trade was a 4.38% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 13.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Brown & Brown Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE BRO opened at $62.03 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The business has a 50-day moving average of $60.00 and a 200-day moving average of $68.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.95, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.63. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.81 and a 12 month high of $111.09.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.03. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 17.94% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.29 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Brown & Brown’s payout ratio is 21.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on BRO shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Brown & Brown from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on Brown & Brown in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. They set a “market outperform” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on Brown & Brown in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. They set a “market outperform” rating for the company. Barclays cut their price target on Brown & Brown from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Brown & Brown from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.44.

Brown & Brown Company Profile

Brown & Brown, Inc (NYSE: BRO) is a professional insurance brokerage and risk advisory firm that provides a broad range of property and casualty, employee benefits, personal risk, and specialty insurance products. The company works with commercial, public sector and individual clients to design and place insurance programs, manage claims and loss control, and deliver risk management consulting. Its services also include wholesale brokerage, program administration and other specialty distribution solutions that connect carriers and intermediaries to niche markets.

Brown & Brown operates through a decentralized model of operating units and subsidiaries, enabling local client service with the scale to access national and specialty markets.