Guggenheim Capital LLC Boosts Holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. by 7.3%, now owning 126,719 shares valued at approximately $15.76 million.
• Several large investors have also raised their positions in Brown & Brown, with Vanguard Group Inc. holding the largest stake of over 30.5 million shares worth approximately $3.79 billion.
• In recent earnings reports, Brown & Brown reported a net income increase with $1.03 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.99, and a revenue of $1.29 billion, reflecting a 9.1% year-over-year growth.

Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 7.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 126,719 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,628 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $15,764,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BRO. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 0.6% in the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,620,536 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $201,595,000 after acquiring an additional 9,250 shares in the last quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC bought a new position in Brown & Brown in the 1st quarter worth $249,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new position in Brown & Brown in the 1st quarter worth $7,546,000. Jump Financial LLC raised its holdings in Brown & Brown by 737.8% in the 1st quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 99,222 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,343,000 after acquiring an additional 87,379 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 2.5% during the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 21,438 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,667,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Brown & Brown news, Director Paul J. Krump purchased 2,678 shares of Brown & Brown stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost 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 approximately $499,488.43. The trade was a 100.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada bought 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $91.44 per share, for a total transaction of $91,440.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $457,200. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 15.59% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BRO has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $122.00 to $106.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Truist Financial set a $120.00 price target on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $104.00 to $87.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Brown & Brown from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $104.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Brown & Brown from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $126.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.64.

Brown & Brown Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE BRO traded down $2.16 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $94.79. The stock had a trading volume of 803,026 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,557,193. The firm has a market cap of $31.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.80. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.38 and a twelve month high of $125.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 6.72 and a current ratio of 6.72. The company's 50 day moving average price is $100.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $109.57.

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

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 13th. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.29%.

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.