Sfm LLC Buys 6,344 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• Sfm LLC significantly increased its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. by acquiring 6,344 shares, resulting in a total of 8,141 shares valued at approximately $903,000.
• Brown & Brown reported a net margin of 19.89% and a revenue growth of 9.1% year-over-year in its latest quarterly earnings, surpassing analyst expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15, representing a 0.6% dividend yield, with a payout ratio of 17.29%.

Sfm LLC grew its stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 353.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,141 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,344 shares during the period. Sfm LLC's holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $903,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GTS Securities LLC purchased a new position in Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 206.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 42,456 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,331,000 after buying an additional 28,603 shares during the period. 111 Capital bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter valued at $208,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $138,427,000 after acquiring an additional 1,104,852 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BRO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut Brown & Brown from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $104.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $122.00 to $106.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Bank of America raised shares of Brown & Brown from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $126.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $109.00 to $105.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.08.

Brown & Brown Trading Up 1.3%

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

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 15.10%. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.93 earnings per share. Brown & Brown's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect 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 $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Brown & Brown news, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada acquired 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was bought at an average price 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $457,200. This represents a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Paul J. Krump bought 2,678 shares of Brown & Brown stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $93.31 per share, with a total value of $249,884.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,353 shares of the company's stock, 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. Company insiders own 17.02% of the company's stock.

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.

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