Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO Shares Sold by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can trimmed its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 3.1% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 515,601 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 16,639 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $57,165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bares Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Optimum Investment Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. SouthState Corp lifted its stake 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 298.5% during the 2nd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Motco purchased a new position in Brown & Brown during the second quarter worth about $32,000. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

NYSE:BRO opened at $77.86 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $91.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 6.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a twelve month low of $76.96 and a twelve month high of $125.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.31, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.77.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.15. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 13.64% and a net margin of 18.23%.The company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th will be given a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Brown & Brown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 5th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is 19.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Paul J. Krump acquired 2,678 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $93.31 per share, with a total value of $249,884.18. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 15.59% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on BRO. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. 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 research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Brown & Brown from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 20th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $120.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $92.00 to $79.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $105.23.

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.