Wilson Asset Management International PTY Ltd. Has $6.04 Million Stock Holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• Wilson Asset Management International PTY Ltd. has reduced its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. by 62%, now owning 54,440 shares valued at approximately $6.04 million.
• Several hedge funds have increased their positions in Brown & Brown, with Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosting its holdings by 8.5% and SG Americas Securities LLC by 18.8% during the first quarter.
• Brown & Brown's stock is currently rated as a Hold by analysts with an average price target of $109.92, reflecting a mix of buy, hold, and sell ratings from various research firms.

Wilson Asset Management International PTY Ltd. decreased its position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 62.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,440 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 89,003 shares during the period. Brown & Brown accounts for 1.5% of Wilson Asset Management International PTY Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Wilson Asset Management International PTY Ltd.'s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $6,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BRO. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 8.5% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,118 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 13.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,945 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,113,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 18.8% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,537 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,808,000 after buying an additional 2,304 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 7.1% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 6,807 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $847,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 3.4% during the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 60,935 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,580,000 after buying an additional 2,020 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Brown & Brown from $101.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial restated 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. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Brown & Brown from $122.00 to $106.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Bank of America upgraded Brown & Brown from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $126.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Brown & Brown from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.92.

Insider Activity at Brown & Brown

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

Brown & Brown Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of Brown & Brown stock opened at $94.50 on Tuesday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $94.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.56. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52-week low of $89.99 and a 52-week high of $125.68. The firm has a market cap of $31.17 billion, a PE ratio of 27.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 6.72 and a current ratio of 6.72.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 19.89%.The business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. Brown & Brown's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

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

Brown & Brown Profile

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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