Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO Shares Acquired by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management boosted its Brown & Brown stake by 618.3% in the fourth quarter, ending with 162,347 shares valued at about $12.9 million.
• Brown & Brown reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.39 versus estimates of $1.36 and revenue of $1.90 billion, up 35.4% year over year.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.165 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a Hold on average with a consensus price target of $80.73.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 618.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 162,347 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 139,745 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $12,939,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 423.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. Finally, eCIO Inc. acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter worth about $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director H Palmer Proctor, Jr. bought 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $57.10 per share, for a total transaction of $114,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 47,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,719,159.10. This trade represents a 4.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 13.13% of the company's stock.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

NYSE BRO opened at $57.42 on Thursday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.81 and a 52 week high of $113.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market cap of $19.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $64.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.35.

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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.29 EPS. Brown & Brown's quarterly revenue was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio is 21.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Argus upgraded shares of Brown & Brown to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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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