Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 15.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 171,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 31,040 shares during the period. Brown & Brown makes up about 1.1% of Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Brown & Brown worth $13,691,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 36.9% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. 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.

Brown & Brown Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:BRO opened at $59.05 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.20. The firm has a market cap of $20.01 billion, a PE ratio of 18.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.63. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.81 and a 12-month high of $111.10.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 17.94% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The business’s revenue was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.29 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Brown & Brown’s payout ratio is 21.22%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director H Palmer Proctor, Jr. purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $57.10 per share, for a total transaction of $114,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 47,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,719,159.10. This represents a 4.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 13.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BRO. Barclays dropped their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $82.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Citizens Jmp started coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. They issued a “market outperform” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.44.

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.