576,240 Shares in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO Bought by PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab

Key Points

• PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab initiated a new position in Brown & Brown, buying 576,240 shares (≈$46.2M)
• Brown & Brown beat the quarter with $1.39 EPS vs. $1.36 expected and revenue of $1.90B (up 35.4% year‑over‑year), while analysts project roughly 4.51 EPS for the fiscal year.
• Several firms trimmed price targets and the consensus rating is a Hold with an average target of $83; the stock recently opened near $57.58 (down ~4.3%) and is trading close to its 52‑week low.

PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 576,240 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $46,226,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab owned about 0.17% of Brown & Brown as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Horizon Investments LLC lifted its position in Brown & Brown by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 10,018 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $798,000 after purchasing an additional 1,205 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Brown & Brown by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 11,483 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $915,000 after buying an additional 2,505 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S increased its stake in Brown & Brown by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 202,363 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $16,128,000 after buying an additional 19,800 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter worth about $229,000. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its stake in Brown & Brown by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,388 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 507 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 13th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $88.00 to $81.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $82.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $83.00.

Brown & Brown Stock Down 4.3%

NYSE:BRO opened at $57.58 on Friday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $57.46 and a fifty-two week high of $113.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.64. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $67.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.04.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.03. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 17.94% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.89 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.29 EPS. The company's revenue was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.22%.

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.

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