Transcend Capital Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• Transcend Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Brown & Brown by 528.8% in Q4, adding 24,733 shares to hold 29,410 shares worth about $2.34 million.
• Brown & Brown reported Q4 EPS of $0.93, beating estimates by $0.02, with revenue up 35.7% year‑over‑year to $1.61B (slightly below estimates); analysts overall rate the stock a “Hold” with an average price target of $84.40.
• The firm pays a quarterly dividend of $0.165 (annualized $0.66, ~1.0% yield), about 71.01% of shares are held by institutions, and the stock trades near $67.44 with a market cap around $23 billion.

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 528.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,410 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 24,733 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $2,344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Brown & Brown during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Brown & Brown during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in Brown & Brown by 4,369.2% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 581 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Trading Up 3.6%

NYSE BRO opened at $67.44 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market cap of $22.96 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.83. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a one year low of $63.29 and a one year high of $121.70. The firm's fifty day moving average is $68.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.50.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 17.84% and a return on equity of 12.93%. Brown & Brown's quarterly revenue was up 35.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 4th were paid a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 4th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Brown & Brown's payout ratio is currently 20.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BRO. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Brown & Brown from $78.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Argus upgraded Brown & Brown to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Brown & Brown from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $88.00 to $81.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $84.40.

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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