Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 93,396 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• Tandem Investment Advisors reduced its Brown & Brown stake by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 93,396 shares and leaving it with 1,291,818 shares valued at about $102.96 million.
• Brown & Brown reported solid quarterly results, with EPS of $1.39 topping estimates and revenue of $1.90 billion, up 35.4% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock carries a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $79.44, while several firms recently trimmed their targets.

Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,291,818 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 93,396 shares during the period. Brown & Brown accounts for 3.8% of Tandem Investment Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.38% of Brown & Brown worth $102,958,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 81.1% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,479,389 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,639,392,000 after purchasing an additional 7,827,992 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Brown & Brown by 13.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,416,190 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,445,888,000 after buying an additional 1,821,229 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Brown & Brown by 4.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,330,892 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,501,264,000 after buying an additional 1,705,570 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Brown & Brown by 170.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,931,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $181,187,000 after buying an additional 1,217,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Brown & Brown by 1,679.0% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,204,318 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $112,953,000 after acquiring an additional 1,136,623 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Brown & Brown Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of BRO opened at $57.86 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $63.48 and a 200 day moving average of $71.92. The company has a market cap of $19.61 billion, a PE ratio of 18.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.81 and a 52-week high of $113.83.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during 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%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.29 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio is 21.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BRO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $81.00 price objective (down from $90.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $82.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Brown & Brown to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director H Palmer Proctor, Jr. bought 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $57.10 per share, with a total value of $114,200.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 47,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,719,159.10. This trade represents a 4.38% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 13.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Brown & Brown Company 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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