Baillie Gifford & Co. Invests $13.24 Million in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• Baillie Gifford established a new position in Brown & Brown by buying 166,161 shares in Q4, valued at about $13.24 million.
• Quarterly results: Brown & Brown reported $0.93 EPS (beating estimates by $0.02) and $1.61 billion in revenue, with revenue up 35.7% year-over-year but slightly below analyst expectations.
• Market view and payout: The stock carries a consensus "Hold" rating with a $84.40 target, about 71% institutional ownership, and pays a $0.165 quarterly dividend (roughly a 1.0% yield and a 20.6% payout ratio).

Baillie Gifford & Co. bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 166,161 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $13,243,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 4.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,330,892 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,501,264,000 after acquiring an additional 1,705,570 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 81.1% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,479,389 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,639,392,000 after acquiring an additional 7,827,992 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 13.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,416,190 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,445,888,000 after acquiring an additional 1,821,229 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 5.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,120,826 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,230,602,000 after acquiring an additional 660,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,802,327 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $217,517,000 after acquiring an additional 57,274 shares during the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Stock Up 3.6%

Shares of Brown & Brown stock opened at $67.44 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $22.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.83. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $63.29 and a fifty-two week high of $121.70. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $68.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.50.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 17.84%.Brown & Brown's quarterly revenue was up 35.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 4th were issued a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 4th. Brown & Brown's payout ratio is currently 20.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BRO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Brown & Brown from $78.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Brown & Brown in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Brown & Brown from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Brown & Brown from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Brown & Brown from $76.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $84.40.

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.

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