Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 50,050 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• The Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio reduced its holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. by 35.7%, selling 50,050 shares during the second quarter, leaving them with a total of 89,972 shares worth approximately $9.98 million.
• Brown & Brown's recent quarterly earnings exceeded estimates, reporting $1.03 earnings per share, above the consensus of $0.99, alongside a revenue of $1.29 billion, reflecting a 9.1% increase year-over-year.
• Several hedge funds have increased their stakes in Brown & Brown, with GAMMA Investing LLC raising its holdings by an astonishing 13,974.9%, now owning over 1.1 million shares valued at approximately $138.43 million.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lessened its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 35.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 89,972 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 50,050 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $9,975,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BRO. GTS Securities LLC purchased a new position in Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter valued at about $220,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 206.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 42,456 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,331,000 after purchasing an additional 28,603 shares during the period. 111 Capital purchased a new position in Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter valued at about $208,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 77.2% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 732 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 13,974.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,112,758 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $138,427,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104,852 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

BRO stock opened at $93.85 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.96 billion, a PE ratio of 27.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.81. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 12-month low of $89.99 and a 12-month high of $125.68. The company has a current ratio of 6.72, a quick ratio of 6.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $95.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.64.

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

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BRO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Brown & Brown from $104.00 to $87.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Brown & Brown from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $104.00 to $101.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Bank of America upgraded Brown & Brown from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $126.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $120.00 target price (down previously from $125.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Brown & Brown from $109.00 to $105.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brown & Brown

In other news, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $91.44 per share, with a total value of $91,440.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $457,200. This represents a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Paul J. Krump acquired 2,678 shares of Brown & Brown stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $93.31 per share, with a total value of $249,884.18. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 5,353 shares in the company, valued at $499,488.43. This represents a 100.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 17.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.