Panagora Asset Management Inc. Sells 2,949 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. by 9.9%, selling 2,949 shares during the first quarter, resulting in 26,760 shares valued at approximately $3.33 million.
• Several other hedge funds have also adjusted their holdings, with Sunbelt Securities increasing its stake by a significant 581.8% in the fourth quarter, now owning 300 shares worth $31,000.
• Brown & Brown recently reported an earnings beat, posting $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.99, and has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 9.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,760 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,949 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $3,329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BRO. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter worth about $907,000. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Brown & Brown by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 4,690 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $479,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $490,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Brown & Brown by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 589,118 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $60,093,000 after purchasing an additional 28,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Brown & Brown by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 403,647 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $41,180,000 after purchasing an additional 28,053 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BRO. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $122.00 to $106.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Brown & Brown in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Brown & Brown from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $126.00 to $119.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $120.00 price target (down previously from $125.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $112.64.

Brown & Brown Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of BRO traded down $0.77 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $94.72. The stock had a trading volume of 1,378,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,265,059. The firm has a market cap of $31.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.12. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.38 and a twelve month high of $125.68. 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 (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 19.89%.The business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.93 earnings per share. Brown & Brown's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Brown & Brown news, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada acquired 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were 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 directly owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at $457,200. This trade represents a 25.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Krump bought 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 transaction, the director owned 5,353 shares of the company's stock, valued at $499,488.43. This represents a 100.11% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 15.59% of the company's stock.

Brown & Brown Company Profile

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.