Visualize Group LP Buys 138,791 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• Visualize Group LP increased its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. by 83.0%, becoming the second largest shareholder with approximately 305,991 shares.
• Institutional ownership accounts for 71.01% of Brown & Brown's stock, indicating strong interest from large investors.
• Brown & Brown declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, representing an annual yield of 0.6% and a payout ratio of 17.29%.

Visualize Group LP increased its position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 83.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 305,991 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 138,791 shares during the period. Brown & Brown comprises 12.5% of Visualize Group LP's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Visualize Group LP owned approximately 0.11% of Brown & Brown worth $38,065,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BRO. Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown in the first quarter valued at approximately $899,139,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Brown & Brown by 13,974.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,112,758 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $138,427,000 after buying an additional 1,104,852 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in Brown & Brown by 172.5% during the first quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 1,314,434 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $163,516,000 after buying an additional 832,100 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown during the first quarter worth approximately $72,895,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Brown & Brown by 1.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,501,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,794,339,000 after buying an additional 560,980 shares during the period. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE BRO traded down $0.63 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $93.61. 1,463,640 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,233,684. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.38 and a 12 month high of $125.68. The company has a current ratio of 6.72, a quick ratio of 6.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.88 billion, a PE ratio of 26.98, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50 day moving average of $98.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.51.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.28 billion. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 15.10%. The firm's revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 13th. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.29%.

Insider Transactions at Brown & Brown

In other news, Director Paul J. Krump acquired 2,678 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $93.31 per share, with a total value of $249,884.18. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $499,488.43. The trade was a 100.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada acquired 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $91.44 per share, for a total transaction of $91,440.00. Following the acquisition, the director 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. 17.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on BRO shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $104.00 to $87.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Brown & Brown from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $104.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Brown & Brown from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Argus restated a "hold" rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.64.

Brown & Brown Profile

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.