Rathbones Group PLC Buys 186,251 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• Rathbones Group PLC increased its Brown & Brown stake by 23.4% in the fourth quarter, buying 186,251 more shares and bringing its total holding to 980,954 shares worth about $78.2 million.
• Brown & Brown reported solid quarterly results, with EPS of $1.39 beating estimates by $0.03 and revenue of $1.90 billion slightly ahead of expectations. Revenue rose 35.4% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with an average “Hold” rating and an average target price of $80.73, while a recent insider purchase by Director H. Palmer Proctor, Jr. added 2,000 shares at $57.10 each.

Rathbones Group PLC boosted its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 23.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 980,954 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 186,251 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC owned 0.29% of Brown & Brown worth $78,182,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Brown & Brown in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position in Brown & Brown by 423.1% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Brown & Brown by 36.9% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 735 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. Finally, Maseco LLP bought a new stake in Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on BRO shares. Argus raised shares of Brown & Brown to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $76.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Brown & Brown currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $80.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director H Palmer Proctor, Jr. bought 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $57.10 per share, with a total value of $114,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 47,621 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,719,159.10. The trade was a 4.38% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 13.13% of the company's stock.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Brown & Brown stock opened at $57.42 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $64.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.46 billion, a PE ratio of 18.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.66. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 1-year low of $53.81 and a 1-year high of $113.83.

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

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio is 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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