Kestra Advisory Services LLC Sells 11,324 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• Kestra Advisory Services LLC significantly reduced its holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. by 62.8% in the first quarter, retaining a position valued at $834,000 after selling over 11,000 shares.
• Major investment firms have been active, with Compound Planning Inc. increasing its stake by 18.3% and Norinchukin Bank boosting its holdings by 14.0%.
• Equities analysts have mixed views on the stock, with ratings ranging from buy to underperform, and recent price target adjustments indicating a cautious outlook for Brown & Brown's stock performance.

Kestra Advisory Services LLC lessened its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 62.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,705 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 11,324 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 560,980 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 38,078 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 316,519 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Brown & Brown by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,882,426 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $294,065,000 after purchasing an additional 56,033 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Brown & Brown by 1.4% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,353,376 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $292,760,000 after purchasing an additional 33,178 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BRO. Argus reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Truist Financial set a $120.00 target price on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Brown & Brown from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $126.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Paul J. Krump acquired 2,678 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost 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 approximately $499,488.43. This trade represents a 100.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada acquired 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $91.44 per share, with a total value of $91,440.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $457,200. This trade represents a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 17.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Brown & Brown Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of BRO traded down $0.77 on Friday, reaching $94.72. 1,378,843 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,554,385. The company has a current ratio of 6.72, a quick ratio of 6.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $99.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $109.27. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.38 and a 12 month 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. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 15.10%. 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 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate 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 paid 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 dividend yield of 0.6%. Brown & Brown's payout ratio is 17.29%.

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.