Barr E S & Co. Purchases 57,971 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• Barr E S & Co. increased its stake in Brown & Brown by 19% in the fourth quarter, buying 57,971 more shares and bringing its total holding to 362,669 shares worth about $28.9 million.
• Brown & Brown reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.39 versus $1.36 expected and revenue of $1.90 billion, up 35.4% from a year ago.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.165 per share, while analysts remain cautious overall: the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.73.

Barr E S & Co. boosted its position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 19.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 362,669 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 57,971 shares during the period. Brown & Brown makes up approximately 1.5% of Barr E S & Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Barr E S & Co. owned approximately 0.11% of Brown & Brown worth $28,905,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Brown & Brown by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,634,847 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,999,497,000 after buying an additional 303,955 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in Brown & Brown by 81.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,479,389 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,639,392,000 after buying an additional 7,827,992 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Brown & Brown by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,416,190 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,445,888,000 after buying an additional 1,821,229 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Brown & Brown by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,120,826 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,230,602,000 after buying an additional 660,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Brown & Brown by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,802,327 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $217,517,000 after buying an additional 57,274 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Brown & Brown

In other news, Director H Palmer Proctor, Jr. bought 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $57.10 per share, with a total value of $114,200.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 47,621 shares in the company, valued at $2,719,159.10. This represents a 4.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 13.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BRO opened at $56.28 on Friday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.81 and a fifty-two week high of $113.83. The stock has a market cap of $19.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.10, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $64.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.94.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.29 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Brown & Brown from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Citigroup raised shares of Brown & Brown from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays dropped their price target 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. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $80.73.

Brown & Brown 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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