Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• Vanguard increased its stake in Brown & Brown to 37,634,847 shares—about a 11.02% ownership position—after buying 303,955 shares in Q4, valued at roughly $2.999 billion.
• Brown & Brown reported Q1 revenue of $1.90 billion (up 35.4%) and adjusted EPS of $1.39, but growth was largely acquisition-driven with organic revenue flat (0.0%), GAAP diluted EPS declined to $1.06, and leverage rose due to acquisition financing and integration costs.
• The board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.165 (annualized $0.66, ~1.0% yield); Wall Street sentiment is mixed with a consensus "Hold" rating and a $84.27 price target while the company has a market cap of about $21.45 billion.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,634,847 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 303,955 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.02% of Brown & Brown worth $2,999,497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Brown & Brown by 81.1% during 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 period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased 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 worth $1,445,888,000 after purchasing an additional 1,821,229 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Brown & Brown by 5.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,120,826 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,230,602,000 after purchasing an additional 660,005 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Brown & Brown by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,802,327 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $217,517,000 after purchasing an additional 57,274 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Brown & Brown by 16.8% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,703,009 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $299,683,000 after purchasing an additional 389,578 shares during the period. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Brown & Brown News

Here are the key news stories impacting Brown & Brown this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Total revenues rose 35.4% to ~$1.9B and management reported higher adjusted EBITDAC and adjusted EPS (Diluted Net Income Per Share - Adjusted $1.39); the Board declared a $0.165 quarterly cash dividend. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Company reiterated strong M&A execution and integration progress (acquisitions drove most of the revenue gain), which supports longer-term scale and cross-sell potential. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call transcript and slides are available for deeper detail on segment performance, contingents and integration costs — useful if you want to dig into organic vs. acquisition-driven results. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Organic revenue was flat (0.0%) — core growth outside acquisitions did not accelerate, which raises concerns about underlying business momentum. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: GAAP diluted EPS declined (reported $1.06) even though adjusted EPS beat; total revenue slightly trailed some consensus estimates — mixed GAAP vs. adjusted results can spook short-term investors. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: At least one analyst piece (Seeking Alpha) moved to a Hold and lowered a price target to $58 citing slowing organic growth, sector headwinds (notably flood insurance exposure) and that the current premium valuation looks unsupported — this negative research appears to be contributing to selling pressure. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Leverage rose due to acquisition-related financing and there were notable acquisition/integration costs and non-cash mark-to-market items; higher debt and integration risk add execution risk while investors reassess the company's valuation. Read More.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Shares of Brown & Brown stock opened at $63.02 on Wednesday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a one year low of $61.65 and a one year high of $113.83. The company has a market cap of $21.45 billion, a PE ratio of 20.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.83. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.38.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.03. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 17.94%.The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.29 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Brown & Brown's payout ratio is currently 20.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BRO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $76.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $76.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target 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. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $84.27.

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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