Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Shares Purchased by Invesco Ltd.

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. by 8.3% in Q1, owning over 4.1 million shares worth approximately $512.5 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have significantly increased their holdings in Brown & Brown, with First Trust Advisors LP raising its stake by 626.6% and GAMMA Investing LLC by 13,974.9% in recent quarters.
• Brown & Brown's stock recently exceeded estimates with earnings of $1.03 per share for the last quarter and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, reflecting a 0.6% yield.

Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 8.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,120,135 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 316,519 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 1.44% of Brown & Brown worth $512,545,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 534.1% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 279 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 581.8% during the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the 1st quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the 1st quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

BRO traded up $0.78 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $95.91. 860,778 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,567,512. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $103.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $110.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 6.72, a quick ratio of 6.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.38 and a 1-year 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. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 19.89%. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.28 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. 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 payout ratio is presently 17.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BRO shares. Citigroup assumed coverage on Brown & Brown in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. Argus restated a "hold" rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Brown & Brown from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $104.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Brown & Brown from $120.00 to $109.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Brown & Brown from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $126.00 to $119.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $112.93.

Insider Activity at Brown & Brown

In other news, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada purchased 1,000 shares of Brown & Brown stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $91.44 per share, with a total value of $91,440.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at $457,200. This represents a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul J. Krump purchased 2,678 shares of Brown & Brown stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $93.31 per share, for a total transaction of $249,884.18. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $499,488.43. This trade represents a 100.11% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 17.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Brown & Brown Profile

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.