Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Shares Sold by Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC has reduced its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. by 8.7%, now owning 253,443 shares, which represents 1.9% of its total holdings.
• Brown & Brown reported a quarterly EPS of $1.03, exceeding expectations, and a revenue of $1.29 billion, a 9.1% increase from the previous year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, scheduled for payment on August 20th, with an annualized dividend of $0.60 and a yield of 0.6%.

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 8.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 253,443 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 24,162 shares during the quarter. Brown & Brown accounts for approximately 1.9% of Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC owned 0.09% of Brown & Brown worth $31,528,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Brown & Brown by 626.6% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,350,039 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $239,751,000 after acquiring an additional 2,026,589 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Brown & Brown by 13,974.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,112,758 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $138,427,000 after acquiring an additional 1,104,852 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in Brown & Brown by 172.5% during the first quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 1,314,434 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $163,516,000 after acquiring an additional 832,100 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Brown & Brown by 9,262.2% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 687,095 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $70,097,000 after acquiring an additional 679,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Brown & Brown during the first quarter valued at approximately $72,895,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Shares of BRO traded down $0.77 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $95.14. 2,597,825 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,578,972. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 6.72 and a current ratio of 6.72. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.38 and a 12-month high of $125.68. The company has a market cap of $31.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $103.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.54.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.93 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America upgraded Brown & Brown from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $126.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Brown & Brown from $122.00 to $106.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays cut their price objective on Brown & Brown from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Brown & Brown from $104.00 to $87.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Argus restated a "hold" rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brown & Brown

In related news, Director Paul J. Krump bought 2,678 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $93.31 per share, for a total transaction of $249,884.18. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,353 shares in the company, valued at $499,488.43. This represents a 100.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada bought 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $91.44 per share, with a total value of $91,440.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at $457,200. This represents a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 17.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Brown & Brown Company 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.