Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO Shares Sold by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 22.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,168 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $1,859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Brown & Brown in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Brown & Brown

In other Brown & Brown news, Director H Palmer Proctor, Jr. purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $57.10 per share, with a total value of $114,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 47,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,719,159.10. This trade represents a 4.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 13.13% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

BRO opened at $65.39 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $22.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.60. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.81 and a fifty-two week high of $104.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $61.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.82.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last issued 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 12.94% and a net margin of 17.94%.The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Brown & Brown’s payout ratio is currently 21.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Barclays lifted their target price on Brown & Brown from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Brown & Brown from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.62.

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.