Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 67,686 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management cut its Brown & Brown stake by 20.8%, selling 67,686 shares in Q4 and now holds 258,141 shares (~0.08% of the company) valued at $20.58 million.
• Brown & Brown beat the latest quarterly estimates with $1.39 EPS versus $1.36 expected and revenue of $1.90 billion (up 35.4% year-over-year), though the stock was recently down about 4.3%.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $0.165 (annualized $0.66, ~1.1% yield; ex-dividend May 11, payable May 20), and analysts mostly rate the stock a Hold with a consensus target around $83 after several price cuts.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 20.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 258,141 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 67,686 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.08% of Brown & Brown worth $20,583,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Brown & Brown during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 423.1% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Brown & Brown by 4,369.2% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 581 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Brown & Brown by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 735 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Stock Down 4.3%

BRO opened at $57.58 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.52, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $67.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.18. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a twelve month low of $57.46 and a twelve month high of $113.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

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

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $82.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Argus raised shares of Brown & Brown to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Brown & Brown from $76.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Brown & Brown from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on Brown & Brown from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brown & Brown has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $83.00.

About Brown & Brown

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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