Federated Hermes Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. significantly reduced its holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. by 85.4%, now owning 14,077 shares, valued at approximately $1.75 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their positions in Brown & Brown, including Johnson Financial Group, which raised its holdings by 534.1%.
• Brown & Brown recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, representing an annual yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 17.29%.

Federated Hermes Inc. lowered its position in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 85.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,077 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 82,349 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.'s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $1,751,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,940,046 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,609,742,000 after purchasing an additional 38,078 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,195,681 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $428,043,000 after buying an additional 566,116 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Brown & Brown by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,803,616 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $388,045,000 after buying an additional 388,411 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Brown & Brown by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,882,426 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $294,065,000 after buying an additional 56,033 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 2,026,589 shares during the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Brown & Brown

In related news, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada purchased 1,000 shares of Brown & Brown stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was 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 owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at $457,200. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 17.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Brown & Brown Trading Up 0.9%

BRO stock traded up $0.80 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $92.60. The company had a trading volume of 4,129,265 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,690,286. 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 $30.54 billion, a PE ratio of 22.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $105.11 and a 200 day moving average of $110.83. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.38 and a 12 month high of $125.68.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion during 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%. Brown & Brown's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.93 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BRO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Argus restated a "hold" rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Brown & Brown from $127.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $120.00 target price (down previously from $125.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $114.69.

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.