Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.01 EPS

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) posted its earnings results on Monday. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.01), FiscalAI reports. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 17.94% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Brown & Brown stock traded up $1.97 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $69.63. 2,784,304 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,252,786. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market cap of $23.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.60. Brown & Brown has a 12-month low of $53.81 and a 12-month high of $104.10. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.65.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 12th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BRO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings cut Brown & Brown from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on Brown & Brown from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Brown & Brown from $69.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 price target (up from $65.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.62.

Insider Activity at Brown & Brown

In other Brown & Brown news, Director H Palmer Proctor, Jr. bought 2,000 shares of Brown & Brown stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $57.10 per share, with a total value of $114,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 47,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,719,159.10. This represents a 4.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 13.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brown & Brown

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRO. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter worth approximately $448,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 55.2% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 9,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $736,000 after purchasing an additional 3,284 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,858,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $227,816,000 after purchasing an additional 456,412 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter worth approximately $536,000. Finally, Delta Global Management LP raised its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Delta Global Management LP now owns 26,228 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,090,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

About Brown & Brown

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.