Korea Investment CORP Acquires 12,267 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP increased its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. by 11.9%, acquiring an additional 12,267 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 115,283 shares valued at $14.34 million.
• Brown & Brown reported earnings of $1.03 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.99, alongside a revenue increase of 9.1% year-over-year, totaling $1.29 billion for the quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.6%, with a payout ratio of 17.29%.

Korea Investment CORP increased its holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 11.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 115,283 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 12,267 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP's holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $14,341,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter valued at about $907,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Brown & Brown by 977.3% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 43,492 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,437,000 after purchasing an additional 39,455 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Brown & Brown by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,564,185 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $159,579,000 after purchasing an additional 26,770 shares during the last quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury grew its position in Brown & Brown by 30.8% during the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 112,493 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,477,000 after purchasing an additional 26,520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in Brown & Brown by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 373,017 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,058,000 after purchasing an additional 5,677 shares during the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Brown & Brown

In other Brown & Brown news, Director Paul J. Krump acquired 2,678 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $93.31 per share, for a total transaction of $249,884.18. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 5,353 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $499,488.43. This trade represents a 100.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the director directly owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $457,200. This trade represents a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 15.59% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BRO traded up $0.2060 during trading on Friday, reaching $96.6060. 1,593,830 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,771,684. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.12. The company has a quick ratio of 6.72, a current ratio of 6.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.86 billion, a PE ratio of 27.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.78. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.38 and a 52-week high of $125.68.

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

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on BRO. Barclays cut their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective 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. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $120.00 price objective (down from $125.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Brown & Brown from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $104.00 to $101.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.64.

About Brown & Brown

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.