Czech National Bank Acquires 13,999 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• The Czech National Bank increased its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 25.7%, acquiring an additional 13,999 shares during the second quarter.
• Two company directors made significant purchases, with Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada buying 1,000 shares and Director Paul J. Krump purchasing 2,678 shares, indicating increased insider confidence in the company.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Brown & Brown, with a recent downgrade from a "hold" to a "sell" rating and an average price target of $112.64 amidst fluctuating ratings from major firms.

Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 25.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 68,508 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 13,999 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank's holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $7,595,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the 1st quarter worth $899,139,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 13,974.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,104,852 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted 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 acquiring an additional 832,100 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the 1st quarter worth approximately $72,895,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $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 other news, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada purchased 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $91.44 per share, for a total transaction of $91,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $457,200. This trade represents a 25.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Krump purchased 2,678 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $93.31 per share, for a total transaction of $249,884.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,353 shares of the company's stock, valued at $499,488.43. This represents a 100.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 17.02% of the company's stock.

Brown & Brown Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Brown & Brown stock traded down $0.08 on Friday, hitting $91.79. The stock had a trading volume of 6,468,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,179,395. The stock has a market cap of $30.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.45, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.81. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a one year low of $89.99 and a one year high of $125.68. The company has a quick ratio of 6.72, a current ratio of 6.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $96.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.61.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.28 billion. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 15.10%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.93 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 13th. Brown & Brown's payout ratio is presently 17.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on BRO. Barclays lowered their target price on Brown & Brown from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Brown & Brown from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $104.00 to $101.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Bank of America raised shares of Brown & Brown from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $126.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $120.00 target price (down from $125.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Brown & Brown from $122.00 to $106.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.64.

About Brown & Brown

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.