Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO Shares Sold by Prospector Partners LLC

Key Points

• Prospector Partners LLC slashed its Brown & Brown stake by 95.8% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 11,876 shares worth about $947,000 after selling 269,746 shares.
• Wall Street sentiment remains cautious: Brown & Brown has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $78.44, even though a few firms recently initiated or reiterated buy-like ratings.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.39 versus $1.36 estimated and revenue up 35.4% year over year; it also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.165, or $0.66 annualized.

Prospector Partners LLC cut its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 95.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,876 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 269,746 shares during the period. Brown & Brown makes up 2.0% of Prospector Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Prospector Partners LLC's holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $947,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. ICONIQ Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 5.4% in the second quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 2,110 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management boosted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 0.7% in the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 17,854 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,675,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,147 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 2.1% in the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 6,805 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $638,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 1.7% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,491 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $890,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on BRO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. They issued a "market outperform" rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $82.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. They issued a "market outperform" rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $78.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Brown & Brown news, Director H Palmer Proctor, Jr. purchased 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $57.10 per share, for a total transaction of $114,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 47,621 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,719,159.10. This represents a 4.38% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 13.13% of the company's stock.

Brown & Brown Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE BRO opened at $59.96 on Monday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a one year low of $53.81 and a one year high of $111.10. The company's 50 day moving average price is $61.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.28, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.63.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.03. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 17.94% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.29 earnings per share. Brown & Brown's revenue for the quarter was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.22%.

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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