Royal Bank of Canada Grows Position in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. by 6.3%, owning over 3 million shares valued at approximately $381 million.
• Several hedge funds have also made significant adjustments to their positions in Brown & Brown, with MAI Capital Management increasing its stake by 39.1% in the same period.
• Brown & Brown reported earnings of $1.03 per share, surpassing estimates, and recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15, yielding 0.6% annually.

Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 6.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,063,741 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 181,315 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned 1.07% of Brown & Brown worth $381,129,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRO. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG acquired a new position in Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter worth $907,000. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 4,690 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank lifted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 81,449 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,309,000 after purchasing an additional 2,330 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter valued at $490,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 5.0% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BRO shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Brown & Brown from $104.00 to $87.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $120.00 price target (down previously from $125.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Brown & Brown from $109.00 to $105.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Brown & Brown from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $104.00 to $101.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Brown & Brown from $122.00 to $106.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.64.

Insider Transactions at Brown & Brown

In related news, Director Paul J. Krump acquired 2,678 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was bought 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. The trade was a 100.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada bought 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $91.44 per share, with a total value of $91,440.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $457,200. This represents a 25.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 17.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Brown & Brown Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:BRO traded down $0.77 on Friday, hitting $94.72. 1,378,843 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,554,385. The firm's 50-day moving average is $99.79 and its 200 day moving average is $109.27. The company has a market capitalization of $31.24 billion, a PE ratio of 27.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.81. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.38 and a 1-year high of $125.68. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion during 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 is 17.29%.

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.