J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Has $310,000 Holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG significantly reduced its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. by 87.7%, now holding 2,792 shares valued at $310,000.
• Other institutional investors, like Robeco Institutional Asset Management, increased their positions substantially, with Robeco raising its stake by 91.9% during the same quarter.
• Brown & Brown's stock has seen a recent price adjustment, with analysts from Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo lowering their price targets, while the consensus rating remains a "Hold" with an average price target of $112.08.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG cut its holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 87.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,792 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 19,941 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $310,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 91.9% during the second quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 451,153 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $50,019,000 after purchasing an additional 216,049 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 4.1% during the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,009 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,553,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in Brown & Brown by 38.9% in the 2nd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,776 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 1,057 shares during the last quarter. SFM LLC raised its position in Brown & Brown by 353.0% in the 2nd quarter. SFM LLC now owns 8,141 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $903,000 after buying an additional 6,344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC raised its position in Brown & Brown by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,995 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BRO. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Brown & Brown from $109.00 to $105.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded 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, August 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Argus restated a "hold" rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Brown & Brown from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.08.

Brown & Brown Stock Up 1.7%

BRO stock opened at $95.03 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 has a market capitalization of $31.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.39, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.79. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $89.99 and a fifty-two week high of $125.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $94.21 and a 200-day moving average of $105.76.

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

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Brown & Brown

In related news, Director Paul J. Krump acquired 2,678 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $93.31 per share, with a total value of $249,884.18. Following the acquisition, the director owned 5,353 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $499,488.43. This trade represents a 100.11% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada acquired 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $91.44 per share, for a total transaction of $91,440.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,000 shares in the company, 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.

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