Ameriprise Financial Inc. Sells 29,127 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. by 4.9%, selling 29,127 shares and retaining approximately 559,991 shares valued at $69,680,000.
• Brown & Brown reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.03, beating analysts' expectations, with a net margin of 19.89% and revenue growth of 9.1% year-over-year.
• The company's recent quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share reflects an annualized yield of 0.6%, with a payout ratio of 17.29%.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 4.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 559,991 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 29,127 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.20% of Brown & Brown worth $69,680,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norinchukin Bank The boosted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 11,364 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,414,000 after acquiring an additional 1,398 shares during the last quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 950,710 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $118,268,000 after acquiring an additional 2,730 shares during the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 404.1% during the 1st quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 35,415 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,406,000 after acquiring an additional 28,390 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 273,043 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,966,000 after acquiring an additional 17,417 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 4.4% in the first quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 5,102 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $635,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Shares of BRO stock traded up $0.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $97.02. The company had a trading volume of 1,755,218 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,885,593. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.38 and a 52-week high of $125.68. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $100.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 6.72 and a quick ratio of 6.72. The company has a market capitalization of $32.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 13th. Brown & Brown's payout ratio is currently 17.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brown & Brown

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BRO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $109.00 to $105.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $122.00 to $106.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $104.00 to $87.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $112.00 price target on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.