Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC Sells 5,893 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. by 35.6%, selling 5,893 shares during the first quarter, which brings their total holdings to 10,648 shares valued at approximately $1.33 million.
• Brown & Brown reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.03, surpassing analysts' expectations, with revenues increasing by 9.1% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 0.6%, with a payout ratio of 17.29%.

Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 35.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,648 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,893 shares during the period. Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $1,325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Parnassus Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the first quarter worth $899,139,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,104,852 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 832,100 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 9,262.2% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 687,095 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $70,097,000 after purchasing an additional 679,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the first quarter worth $72,895,000. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Brown & Brown news, Director Paul J. Krump purchased 2,678 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 5,353 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $499,488.43. This represents 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 purchased 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $457,200. This 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 insiders.

Brown & Brown Stock Down 0.2%

BRO traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $95.25. 1,768,464 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,563,605. The company has a market cap of $31.42 billion, a PE ratio of 27.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.81. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $100.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $109.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 6.72 and a quick ratio of 6.72. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a one year low of $90.38 and a one year high of $125.68.

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

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BRO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Brown & Brown from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $126.00 to $119.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $122.00 to $106.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Bank of America raised shares of Brown & Brown from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $126.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Brown & Brown from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $104.00 to $101.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.