Nomura Holdings Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• Nomura Holdings Inc. reduced its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. by 61.4%, selling 11,958 shares and now holds 7,502 shares valued at approximately $933,000.
• Brown & Brown recently reported earnings of $1.03 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations and showing a year-over-year revenue growth of 9.1%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.6% and a payout ratio of 17.29%.

Nomura Holdings Inc. cut its holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 61.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,502 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 11,958 shares during the quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Optimum Investment Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. SouthState Corp boosted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 188.6% during the first quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 254 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 581.8% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the first quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Brown & Brown in the 1st quarter worth $46,000. 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 stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $91.44 per share, with a total value of $91,440.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $457,200. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Krump acquired 2,678 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price 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. The trade was a 100.11% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 15.59% of the company's stock.

Brown & Brown Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:BRO traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $95.07. The stock had a trading volume of 1,549,154 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,548,003. The company has a market cap of $31.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.80. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a one year low of $90.38 and a one year high of $125.68. The business's 50 day moving average is $99.49 and its 200-day moving average is $109.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 6.72 and a current ratio of 6.72.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.93 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Brown & Brown from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $104.00 to $101.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $120.00 target price (down previously from $125.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Monday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Brown & Brown from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $126.00 to $119.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Brown & Brown from $122.00 to $106.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Brown & Brown from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.