Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO Shares Sold by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management Holding SA reduced its Brown & Brown stake by 7.4% in the first quarter, selling 19,123 shares and ending with 239,018 shares worth about $15.6 million.
• Brown & Brown reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.39 versus the $1.36 estimate and revenue of $1.90 billion versus $1.89 billion expected. Revenue rose 35.4% year over year.
• The company continues to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.165 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average price target of $78.25.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lowered its position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 7.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 239,018 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 19,123 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.07% of Brown & Brown worth $15,587,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BRO. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Brown & Brown during the second quarter worth about $30,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

NYSE BRO opened at $69.87 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $59.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.81 and a twelve month high of $108.75. The company has a market capitalization of $23.68 billion, a PE ratio of 22.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.60.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 17.94%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.29 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Brown & Brown's payout ratio is 21.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on BRO shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings lowered Brown & Brown from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Brown & Brown from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Brown & Brown from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Brown & Brown from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $78.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director H Palmer Proctor, Jr. purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $57.10 per share, for a total transaction of $114,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 47,621 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,719,159.10. The trade was a 4.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 13.13% of the company's stock.

Brown & Brown Company Profile

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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