Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. by 0.6%, owning over 1.6 million shares worth approximately $201.6 million.
• Several institutional investors have also increased their holdings, including Vanguard Group, which raised its ownership by 1.9%, now totaling over 30.5 million shares valued at nearly $3.8 billion.
• Analysts have mixed views on the stock, with target prices ranging from as low as $87 to as high as $130, reflecting a sentiment of cautious optimism about its performance.

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 0.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,620,536 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 9,250 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC owned about 0.57% of Brown & Brown worth $201,595,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $316,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 26.8% in the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 454 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,312 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $536,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 2,530 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Brown & Brown

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

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BRO traded up $0.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $97.21. 637,975 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,562,118. The company's 50 day moving average price is $101.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.76. The firm has a market cap of $32.06 billion, a PE ratio of 28.02, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 6.72 and a quick ratio of 6.72. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52 week low of $90.38 and a 52 week high of $125.68.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.93 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BRO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Brown & Brown from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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 cut their price target for the company from $104.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Brown & Brown from $122.00 to $106.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Brown & Brown from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $126.00 to $119.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Brown & Brown has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $112.64.

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.