Vancity Investment Management Ltd Buys New Shares in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• Vancity Investment Management Ltd has acquired 297,938 shares of Brown & Brown, Inc., valuing the investment at approximately $37.1 million, making it the firm's 5th largest holding.
• Several hedge funds have also increased their stakes in Brown & Brown, with over 71% of the stock now owned by institutional investors.
• Analyst ratings for Brown & Brown vary, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a price target of $112.64, following recent downgrades from firms like Goldman Sachs and Wall Street Zen.

Vancity Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 297,938 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $37,063,000. Brown & Brown makes up about 5.1% of Vancity Investment Management Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Vancity Investment Management Ltd owned 0.10% of Brown & Brown as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bares Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Optimum Investment Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. SouthState Corp grew its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 188.6% during the 1st quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 254 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Brown & Brown by 581.8% in the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in Brown & Brown in the 1st quarter worth $45,000. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada acquired 1,000 shares of Brown & Brown stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $91.44 per share, for a total transaction of $91,440.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at $457,200. This represents a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul J. Krump acquired 2,678 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $93.31 per share, for a total transaction of $249,884.18. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,353 shares of the company's stock, valued at $499,488.43. This trade represents a 100.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 15.59% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BRO. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Brown & Brown from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $126.00 to $119.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Brown & Brown from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Argus restated a "hold" rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Truist Financial set a $120.00 price target on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $122.00 to $106.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.64.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

NYSE:BRO opened at $94.72 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $99.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $109.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 6.72 and a quick ratio of 6.72. The firm has a market cap of $31.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.80. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.38 and a 1-year high of $125.68.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 19.89%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Brown & Brown's payout ratio is currently 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.

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