Hsbc Holdings PLC Has $60.83 Million Stock Position in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC has reduced its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. by 11.2%, selling 62,027 shares and holding 490,293 shares worth approximately $60.83 million at the end of the quarter.
• Several analysts have cut their price targets for Brown & Brown shares, with Wells Fargo and others lowering their ratings, indicating a tilt towards caution in the market.
• Brown & Brown recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, with a yield of 0.6%, reflecting the company's ongoing commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Hsbc Holdings PLC lowered its position in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 11.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 490,293 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 62,027 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.17% of Brown & Brown worth $60,825,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the 1st quarter worth about $1,929,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 104.4% during the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 419 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Brown & Brown by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 6,807 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $847,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Brown & Brown by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 764,709 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $95,130,000 after acquiring an additional 18,677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter worth approximately $580,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

NYSE BRO traded down $0.92 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $95.80. The company had a trading volume of 1,649,963 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,569,459. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.38 and a fifty-two week high of $125.68. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $101.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.04. The firm has a market cap of $31.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.78.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 19.89%.The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.93 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Brown & Brown news, Director Paul J. Krump purchased 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, with a total value of $249,884.18. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $91.44 per share, for a total transaction of $91,440.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $457,200. This trade represents a 25.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 15.59% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on BRO shares. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $120.00 price target (down from $125.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays reduced their price target on 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. Argus reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen lowered Brown & Brown from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, Bank of America raised Brown & Brown from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $126.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.