KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys 18,400 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. by 22.2%, acquiring an additional 18,400 shares and owning a total of 101,200 shares valued at approximately $11.22 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Parnassus Investments LLC and Vanguard Group Inc., significantly modified their positions in Brown & Brown during the first quarter, contributing to institutional investors owning 71.01% of the company's stock.
• Brown & Brown reported $1.03 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate, alongside a 9.1% year-over-year revenue growth.

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 22.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 101,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 18,400 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $11,220,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BRO. Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the 1st quarter valued at about $899,139,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the 1st quarter valued at about $72,895,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,501,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,794,339,000 after acquiring an additional 560,980 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 66.0% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,169,936 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $145,540,000 after acquiring an additional 465,028 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Brown & Brown by 125.8% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 628,690 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $78,209,000 after purchasing an additional 350,236 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Brown & Brown Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of BRO stock opened at $95.51 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $94.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.18. The company has a quick ratio of 6.72, a current ratio of 6.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $31.50 billion, a PE ratio of 27.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.79. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 12-month low of $89.99 and a 12-month high of $125.68.

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

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Brown & Brown

In other Brown & Brown news, Director Paul J. Krump purchased 2,678 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $93.31 per share, for a total transaction of $249,884.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $499,488.43. This represents a 100.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada purchased 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $91.44 per share, with a total value of $91,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director 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. Company insiders own 17.02% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Brown & Brown from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 20th. Argus reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Brown & Brown from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America upgraded shares of Brown & Brown from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $126.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brown & Brown has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.92.

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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