Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO Stock Position Increased by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs increased its Brown & Brown position by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, bringing its stake to 2,183,346 shares valued at about $174 million.
• Brown & Brown reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.39 versus the $1.36 estimate and revenue of $1.90 billion, up 35.4% year over year.
• Analysts remain cautious overall: the stock has a Hold consensus rating with an average price target of $79.44, even as insiders and other institutions have also been buying shares.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,183,346 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 54,242 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.64% of Brown & Brown worth $174,013,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Brown & Brown by 38.3% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 33,444 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,132,000 after acquiring an additional 9,264 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 11,149 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,387,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 1,824.7% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 53,103 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,888,000 after purchasing an additional 50,344 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 27.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 60.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 933 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on BRO shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on Brown & Brown in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. They set a "market outperform" rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Brown & Brown from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Brown & Brown from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Brown & Brown in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. They set a "market outperform" rating on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Brown & Brown news, Director H Palmer Proctor, Jr. purchased 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $57.10 per share, with a total value 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. This represents a 4.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 13.13% of the company's stock.

Brown & Brown Stock Down 0.0%

BRO stock opened at $58.85 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.63. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.81 and a 52-week high of $111.51. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $61.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.50.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.29 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Brown & Brown's payout ratio is currently 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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