Regal Partners Ltd Invests $1.30 Million in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Key Points

• Regal Partners Ltd acquired 10,464 shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. for about $1.3 million, according to a recent SEC filing.
• Several other institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Invesco Ltd., have also increased their stakes in Brown & Brown during Q1.
• The company's recent earnings report showed a 4% increase in EPS compared to the previous year, with a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 15.10%.

Regal Partners Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 10,464 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,302,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Brown & Brown by 1.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,501,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,794,339,000 after buying an additional 560,980 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Brown & Brown by 0.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,940,046 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,609,742,000 after buying an additional 38,078 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Brown & Brown by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,195,681 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $428,043,000 after buying an additional 566,116 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Brown & Brown by 8.3% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,120,135 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $512,545,000 after buying an additional 316,519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Brown & Brown by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,882,426 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $294,065,000 after buying an additional 56,033 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Brown & Brown stock traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $95.35. 3,943,622 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,587,778. The company's fifty day moving average is $103.09 and its 200-day moving average is $110.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 6.72 and a current ratio of 6.72. The firm has a market cap of $31.45 billion, a PE ratio of 27.48, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.78. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52 week low of $90.38 and a 52 week high of $125.68.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 15.10%. Brown & Brown's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $91.44 per share, with a total value of $91,440.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $457,200. This trade represents a 25.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul J. Krump purchased 2,678 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $93.31 per share, for a total transaction of $249,884.18. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 5,353 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $499,488.43. This represents a 100.11% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 17.02% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on BRO. Bank of America upgraded shares of Brown & Brown from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $126.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $122.00 to $106.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Brown & Brown from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $126.00 to $119.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $120.00 to $109.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Argus reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Thursday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.93.

About Brown & Brown

Brown & Brown, Inc is an insurance agency, wholesale brokerage, insurance program and service organization. It engages in the provision of insurance brokerage services and casualty insurance underwriting services. It operates through the following segments: Retail, National Programs, Wholesale Brokerage, and Services.