Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO Shares Acquired by Capital World Investors

Key Points

• Capital World Investors increased its Brown & Brown stake by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, ending with 17.9 million shares worth about $1.43 billion and representing roughly 5.24% of the company.
• 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% year over year.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.165 per share, while analysts remain cautious overall with a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $79.44.

Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,886,395 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 407,006 shares during the quarter. Capital World Investors owned approximately 5.24% of Brown & Brown worth $1,425,546,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital International Inc. CA acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,171,000. Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter worth approximately $371,654,000. Pinebridge Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter worth approximately $677,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 30.1% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential PLC grew its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 15,629 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,246,000 after buying an additional 5,024 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brown & Brown

In related news, Director H Palmer Proctor, Jr. acquired 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $57.10 per share, for a total transaction of $114,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 47,621 shares in the company, valued at $2,719,159.10. This trade represents a 4.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 13.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Shares of BRO opened at $58.85 on Monday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.81 and a 1 year high of $111.51. The company has a market cap of $19.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.63. 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 has a fifty day moving average of $61.63 and a 200-day moving average of $70.50.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.29 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Brown & Brown's payout ratio is currently 21.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BRO shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on Brown & Brown from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Brown & Brown from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Brown & Brown from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Brown & Brown from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Brown & Brown from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $79.44.

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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