Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO Shares Sold by Madison Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Madison Asset Management trimmed its Brown & Brown stake by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, though it still held about 1.99 million shares worth roughly $158.4 million, making BRO its 9th-largest position.
• Brown & Brown reported solid quarterly results, with EPS of $1.39 beating estimates and revenue of $1.90 billion slightly above forecasts; revenue also rose 35.4% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.165 per share, and a director also bought 2,000 shares in early May, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with a $80.73 price target.

Madison Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,987,110 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 21,650 shares during the period. Brown & Brown comprises 1.8% of Madison Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Madison Asset Management LLC owned about 0.58% of Brown & Brown worth $158,373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 423.1% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Maseco LLP purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Shares of Brown & Brown stock opened at $55.78 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $18.91 billion, a PE ratio of 17.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.20 and a 52 week high of $113.83. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $65.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.53.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 17.94%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.29 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. Brown & Brown's payout ratio is 21.22%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director H Palmer Proctor, Jr. acquired 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $57.10 per share, for a total transaction of $114,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 47,621 shares in the company, valued at $2,719,159.10. The trade was a 4.38% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 13.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Brown & Brown from $88.00 to $81.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $81.00 price target (down from $90.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $80.73.

About Brown & Brown

Brown & Brown, Inc NYSE: BRO is a professional insurance brokerage and risk advisory firm that provides a broad range of property and casualty, employee benefits, personal risk, and specialty insurance products. The company works with commercial, public sector and individual clients to design and place insurance programs, manage claims and loss control, and deliver risk management consulting. Its services also include wholesale brokerage, program administration and other specialty distribution solutions that connect carriers and intermediaries to niche markets.

Brown & Brown operates through a decentralized model of operating units and subsidiaries, enabling local client service with the scale to access national and specialty markets.

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