Confluence Investment Management LLC Sells 193,720 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• Confluence Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. by 39.3%, selling 193,720 shares and retaining 299,805 shares valued at approximately $33.2 million.
• Several institutional investors have significantly increased their positions in Brown & Brown, including Parnassus Investments and GAMMA Investing, which now owns over 1.1 million shares.
• Analysts have mixed views on the stock, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.64, while Citigroup has issued a "buy" rating with a target of $112.00.

Confluence Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 39.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 299,805 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 193,720 shares during the quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned about 0.10% of Brown & Brown worth $33,239,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRO. Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $899,139,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Brown & Brown by 13,974.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,112,758 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $138,427,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104,852 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in Brown & Brown by 172.5% during the 1st quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 1,314,434 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $163,516,000 after purchasing an additional 832,100 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $72,895,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Brown & Brown by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,501,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,794,339,000 after purchasing an additional 560,980 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Brown & Brown

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup initiated coverage on Brown & Brown in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $120.00 price objective (down previously from $125.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Bank of America upgraded Brown & Brown from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $126.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Truist Financial set a $120.00 price objective on Brown & Brown in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Brown & Brown from $109.00 to $105.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.64.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Brown & Brown stock opened at $93.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 6.72 and a quick ratio of 6.72. The company has a market capitalization of $30.88 billion, a PE ratio of 26.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.81. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a one year low of $90.38 and a one year high of $125.68. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $98.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.51.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 19.89%.Brown & Brown's revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 13th. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.29%.

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.

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