Wellington Management Group LLP Reduces Holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP has reduced its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. by 25.3%, selling 35,480 shares, and now holds 104,816 shares valued at approximately $13 million.
• Several hedge funds have changed their positions in Brown & Brown, with SouthState Corp increasing its holdings by 188.6% in the first quarter.
• Research analysts have varying opinions on the stock, with an average rating of "Hold" and a target price of $112.64, but significant price reductions noted from several firms.

Wellington Management Group LLP decreased its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 25.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 104,816 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 35,480 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP's holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $13,039,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Korea Investment CORP grew its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 11.9% during the first quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 115,283 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $14,341,000 after acquiring an additional 12,267 shares during the last quarter. Qtron Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 9.4% during the first quarter. Qtron Investments LLC now owns 9,184 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,142,000 after acquiring an additional 786 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 94.1% during the first quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,318 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,159,000 after acquiring an additional 4,517 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 1.4% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,353,376 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $292,760,000 after acquiring an additional 33,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 136.9% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,052 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 608 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Shares of BRO stock traded down $1.55 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $95.40. 2,455,823 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,597,255. The company has a quick ratio of 6.72, a current ratio of 6.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $31.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $100.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.48. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.38 and a fifty-two week high of $125.68.

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

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 13th. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.29%.

Insider Activity at Brown & Brown

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on BRO. Bank of America raised Brown & Brown from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $126.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Brown & Brown from $109.00 to $105.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 18th. Argus reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Brown & Brown from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $104.00 to $101.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $120.00 target price (down previously from $125.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Monday, August 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $112.64.

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.