Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $191.03 Million Stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP has reduced its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. by 1.8%, now holding approximately 1.54 million shares valued at $191 million.
• Analyst ratings for Brown & Brown have seen several changes, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and average target price set at $112.64, following various downgrades from multiple firms.
• Brown & Brown announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, with a yield of 0.6%, payable to investors of record on August 13th.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its position in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,535,805 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 28,380 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.54% of Brown & Brown worth $191,032,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its stake in Brown & Brown by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 3,406 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in Brown & Brown by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,804 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new position in Brown & Brown during the 1st quarter worth approximately $11,942,000. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its stake in Brown & Brown by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 97,643 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,147,000 after acquiring an additional 9,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Brown & Brown by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 8,284 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,031,000 after acquiring an additional 782 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BRO. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered 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 research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $120.00 price target (down previously from $125.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $112.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial set a $120.00 price target on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brown & Brown currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $112.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 bought at an average cost of $93.31 per share, for a total transaction of $249,884.18. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $91.44 per share, for a total transaction of $91,440.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $457,200. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 15.59% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Brown & Brown Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE BRO traded up $0.2060 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $96.6060. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,593,830 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,771,684. The company has a current ratio of 6.72, a quick ratio of 6.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.38 and a fifty-two week high of $125.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.84, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.12.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 15.10%. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.93 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict 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 issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.29%.

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.