Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Acquires Shares of 174,180 Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management acquired 174,180 Brown & Brown shares worth approximately $11.2 million, giving it a 0.05% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 71.01% of the company.
• Brown & Brown’s latest quarterly results fell slightly short of expectations, with EPS of $1.07 versus $1.08 forecast and revenue of $1.65 billion versus $1.71 billion expected; however, revenue increased 30.4% year over year.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.165, or $0.66 annualized, representing a 0.9% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $76.80.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 174,180 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $11,174,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.05% of Brown & Brown as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. ICONIQ Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 2,110 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management grew its stake in Brown & Brown by 0.7% during the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 17,854 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,675,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its stake in Brown & Brown by 2.1% during the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 6,805 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $638,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 33,805 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,694,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 28,750 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,291,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

BRO stock opened at $72.79 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $68.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.76. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.81 and a fifty-two week high of $97.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 2.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.36 billion, a PE ratio of 22.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.59.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 30.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th were given a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 12th. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Friday, June 26th. Citizens Jmp lifted their price objective on Brown & Brown from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Brown & Brown from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup cut Brown & Brown from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $79.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Brown & Brown from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.80.

About Brown & Brown

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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