Acadian Asset Management LLC Sells 72,056 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC significantly reduced its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. by 62.6%, selling 72,056 shares and now holding just 43,107 shares valued at $5.36 million.
• Brown & Brown recently had mixed analyst ratings, with some upgrading the stock to a "buy" while others set lower price targets, resulting in an average rating of "hold" and a price target of $112.64.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15, which represents an annualized dividend yield of 0.6%, while retaining a dividend payout ratio of 17.29%.

Acadian Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 62.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,107 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 72,056 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC's holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $5,360,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BRO. Parnassus Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the first quarter valued at $899,139,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 13,974.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,112,758 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $138,427,000 after buying an additional 1,104,852 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 172.5% in the first quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 1,314,434 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $163,516,000 after buying an additional 832,100 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the first quarter valued at $72,895,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 1.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,501,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,794,339,000 after buying an additional 560,980 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Brown & Brown

In related news, Director Paul J. Krump bought 2,678 shares of Brown & Brown stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $93.31 per share, for a total transaction of $249,884.18. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 5,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $499,488.43. This represents a 100.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada bought 1,000 shares of Brown & Brown stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $91.44 per share, for a total transaction of $91,440.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $457,200. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 17.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Brown & Brown Trading Down 0.3%

BRO traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $91.93. 3,189,389 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,132,331. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 6.72 and a current ratio of 6.72. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a one year low of $89.99 and a one year high of $125.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.49, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.81. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $96.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.80.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 19.89%.The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.93 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BRO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Brown & Brown from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Brown & Brown from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Argus reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Brown & Brown from $122.00 to $106.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Brown & Brown from $104.00 to $87.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $112.64.

Brown & Brown Profile

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.