29,545 Shares in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO Acquired by Empowered Funds LLC

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC acquired 29,545 shares of Brown & Brown during the second quarter, valued at approximately $1.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.01% of the company.
• Brown & Brown’s latest quarterly results fell slightly short of expectations, with EPS of $1.07 versus $1.08 anticipated and revenue of $1.65 billion versus $1.71 billion expected. However, revenue increased 30.4% year over year.
• The stock opened at $72.50, while analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $76.80. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.165 per share, representing a 0.9% yield.

Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 29,545 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,895,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rathbones Group PLC increased its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 1,154,219 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $75,267,000 after purchasing an additional 173,265 shares during the period. Barr E S & Co. boosted its stake in Brown & Brown by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. Barr E S & Co. now owns 362,669 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,905,000 after buying an additional 57,971 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Brown & Brown by 46.5% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,573,902 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $102,634,000 after acquiring an additional 499,902 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc raised its position in Brown & Brown by 924.0% in the fourth quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 57,425 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,577,000 after acquiring an additional 51,817 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Brown & Brown by 6,588.6% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 289,013 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,540,000 after acquiring an additional 284,692 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Stock Up 0.6%

BRO stock opened at $72.50 on Friday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.81 and a 52-week high of $96.55. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $69.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 2.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.58.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 13.17%. Brown & Brown's revenue for the quarter was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BRO shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating and set a $60.00 target price (up from $56.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Brown & Brown from $69.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $76.80.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source