Fenimore Asset Management Inc Has $174.03 Million Holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• Fenimore Asset Management raised its stake in Brown & Brown by 1.3% to 2,183,511 shares (about $174.03M), representing roughly 0.64% of Brown & Brown and making the stock Fenimore's 7th largest holding (about 3.6% of its portfolio).
• Brown & Brown beat Q1 estimates with EPS of $1.39 (vs. $1.36) and revenue of $1.90B (+35.4% YoY), and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.165 (annualized $0.66, ~1.1% yield).
• Institutional investors own about 71.0% of BRO, with large stake increases from Vanguard, Capital World, Principal, JPMorgan and AQR, while analysts mostly rate the stock as Hold with a consensus price target of $83.00.

Fenimore Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,183,511 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 27,056 shares during the period. Brown & Brown comprises about 3.6% of Fenimore Asset Management Inc's holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Fenimore Asset Management Inc owned about 0.64% of Brown & Brown worth $174,026,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BRO. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Brown & Brown by 81.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,479,389 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,639,392,000 after purchasing an additional 7,827,992 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Brown & Brown by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,416,190 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,445,888,000 after acquiring an additional 1,821,229 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Brown & Brown by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,330,892 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,501,264,000 after acquiring an additional 1,705,570 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Brown & Brown by 170.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,931,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $181,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,217,071 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Brown & Brown by 1,679.0% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,204,318 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $112,953,000 after acquiring an additional 1,136,623 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Brown & Brown Trading Down 4.3%

BRO opened at $57.58 on Friday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a twelve month low of $57.46 and a twelve month high of $113.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a fifty day moving average of $67.60 and a 200-day moving average of $75.04. The stock has a market cap of $19.52 billion, a PE ratio of 18.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.66.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.03. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 17.94% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.29 earnings per share. Brown & Brown's revenue for the quarter was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio is 21.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BRO has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $88.00 to $81.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Argus upgraded shares of Brown & Brown to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $81.00 price target (down from $90.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.00.

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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