Hsbc Holdings PLC Increases Stock Holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings increased its Brown & Brown stake by 13.2% in the second quarter, adding 76,070 shares to own 652,326 shares valued at approximately $41.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.01% of the company.
• Analysts remain generally cautious, with Brown & Brown receiving an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $76.80; ratings include four Buys, fourteen Holds, and one Sell.
• Brown & Brown reported quarterly EPS of $1.07, slightly below estimates, while revenue reached $1.65 billion—up 30.4% year over year but below consensus. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.165, equivalent to a 0.9% annual yield.

Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 652,326 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 76,070 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.19% of Brown & Brown worth $41,691,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BRO. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Brown & Brown during the first quarter worth $25,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the second quarter valued at $30,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $73.00 target price (up from $65.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Brown & Brown from $69.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brown & Brown presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.80.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Brown & Brown stock opened at $71.42 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $70.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 2.11. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.81 and a fifty-two week high of $96.55. The company has a market capitalization of $23.90 billion, a PE ratio of 22.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.58.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 17.75%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th were issued a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 12th. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.82%.

Brown & Brown Profile

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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