Insight Wealth Strategies LLC Sells 34,468 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• Insight Wealth Strategies LLC has significantly reduced its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. by 94.4%, selling 34,468 shares and retaining only 2,056 shares valued at $224,000.
• Despite the reduction by Insight Wealth Strategies, other institutional investors like Vanguard Group Inc. and Invesco Ltd. have increased their holdings in Brown & Brown during the same period.
• Brown & Brown recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15, reflecting a dividend yield of 0.6%, with the company's payout ratio at 17.29%.

Insight Wealth Strategies LLC reduced its position in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 94.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,056 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 34,468 shares during the quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC's holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $224,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Brown & Brown by 1.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,501,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,794,339,000 after acquiring an additional 560,980 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Brown & Brown by 0.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,940,046 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,609,742,000 after acquiring an additional 38,078 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new stake in Brown & Brown during the first quarter worth $899,139,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Brown & Brown by 8.3% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,120,135 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $512,545,000 after acquiring an additional 316,519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Brown & Brown by 6.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,063,741 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $381,129,000 after acquiring an additional 181,315 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on BRO shares. Argus reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $120.00 target price (down previously from $125.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Monday, August 4th. Bank of America raised shares of Brown & Brown from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $126.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Brown & Brown from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $104.00 to $101.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Brown & Brown from $104.00 to $87.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.64.

Brown & Brown Trading Down 0.7%

BRO stock opened at $93.61 on Friday. 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 simple moving average is $98.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.47. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52 week low of $90.38 and a 52 week high of $125.68. The company has a market capitalization of $30.88 billion, a PE ratio of 26.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.81.

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

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Brown & Brown news, Director Paul J. Krump purchased 2,678 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 purchase, the director owned 5,353 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $499,488.43. The trade was a 100.11% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada purchased 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $91.44 per share, for a total transaction of $91,440.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $457,200. This represents a 25.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 17.02% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BRO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.