Seven Grand Managers LLC Cuts Holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• Seven Grand Managers LLC cut its Brown & Brown stake by 50% in the fourth quarter, selling 187,500 shares and leaving it with 187,500 shares worth about $14.9 million.
• Brown & Brown reported solid quarterly results, with earnings of $1.39 per share topping estimates and revenue of $1.90 billion slightly ahead of expectations; revenue rose 35.4% year over year.
• Analysts remain mostly cautious on the stock, with 14 Hold ratings versus 5 Buy ratings and an average price target of $79.44, even as an insider director recently bought 2,000 shares.

Seven Grand Managers LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 50.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 187,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 187,500 shares during the period. Brown & Brown comprises 1.1% of Seven Grand Managers LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Seven Grand Managers LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Brown & Brown worth $14,944,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 423.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 36.9% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 735 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maseco LLP purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. 71.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BRO opened at $56.78 on Thursday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $63.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.63. The stock has a market cap of $19.25 billion, a PE ratio of 18.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a one year low of $53.81 and a one year high of $113.83.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.89 billion. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 17.94%.Brown & Brown's quarterly revenue was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.29 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Shareholders 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 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio is 21.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Brown & Brown from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Brown & Brown from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Brown & Brown from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Brown & Brown from $88.00 to $81.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $81.00 price target (down from $90.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $79.44.

Insider Activity

In other Brown & Brown news, Director H Palmer Proctor, Jr. acquired 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $57.10 per share, for a total transaction of $114,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 47,621 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,719,159.10. This trade represents a 4.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 13.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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