6,484,778 Shares in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO Acquired by Norges Bank

Key Points

• Norges Bank disclosed a new fourth-quarter position in Brown & Brown, buying 6,484,778 shares valued at about $516.8 million, or roughly 1.9% of the company.
• Brown & Brown reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, with EPS of $1.39 versus $1.36 expected and revenue of $1.90 billion, up 35.4% year over year.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.165 per share, while Wall Street currently has a consensus Hold rating and a $79.44 average price target on the stock.

Norges Bank 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 filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 6,484,778 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $516,837,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.90% of Brown & Brown at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 423.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new position in Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Brown & Brown during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Maseco LLP bought a new position in Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter worth about $60,000. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brown & Brown

In other news, Director H Palmer Proctor, Jr. bought 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 purchase, the director owned 47,621 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,719,159.10. This represents a 4.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 13.13% of the company's stock.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BRO opened at $56.32 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.11, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a 50-day moving average of $62.56 and a 200-day moving average of $71.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.81 and a fifty-two week high of $113.83.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.89 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.29 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BRO. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Citizens Jmp began coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. They set a "market outperform" rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.44.

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.

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.