MUFG Securities EMEA plc Boosts Stock Holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• MUFG Securities EMEA plc increased its Brown & Brown stake by 924% in the fourth quarter, ending with 57,425 shares valued at about $4.6 million.
• Brown & Brown reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting EPS of $1.39 versus the $1.36 estimate, while revenue rose 35.4% year over year to $1.90 billion.
• Analysts currently view the stock cautiously, with a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $79.44, while the shares recently traded near $56.32.

MUFG Securities EMEA plc raised its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 924.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,425 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 51,817 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc's holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $4,577,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Triad Investment Management purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,314,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Brown & Brown by 3.8% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,420,814 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $133,258,000 after buying an additional 51,959 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Brown & Brown by 4.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,330,892 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,501,264,000 after buying an additional 1,705,570 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in Brown & Brown by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 552,994 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $44,074,000 after buying an additional 19,503 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 43.3% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 48,600 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,558,000 after acquiring an additional 14,678 shares during the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brown & Brown

In other Brown & Brown news, Director H Palmer Proctor, Jr. bought 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $57.10 per share, with a total value of $114,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 47,621 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,719,159.10. This trade represents a 4.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 13.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BRO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. They set a "market outperform" rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. They set a "market outperform" rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $82.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.44.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Shares of BRO opened at $56.32 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a one year low of $53.81 and a one year high of $113.83. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.09 billion, a PE ratio of 18.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.63.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.03. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 17.94% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.29 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.22%.

Brown & Brown Profile

Brown & Brown, Inc NYSE: BRO is a professional insurance brokerage and risk advisory firm that provides a broad range of property and casualty, employee benefits, personal risk, and specialty insurance products. The company works with commercial, public sector and individual clients to design and place insurance programs, manage claims and loss control, and deliver risk management consulting. Its services also include wholesale brokerage, program administration and other specialty distribution solutions that connect carriers and intermediaries to niche markets.

Brown & Brown operates through a decentralized model of operating units and subsidiaries, enabling local client service with the scale to access national and specialty markets.

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