Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group Has $1.41 Million Stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group lowered its position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 3.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 482 shares during the period. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $1,414,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRO. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,355,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,482,223,000 after purchasing an additional 203,105 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,804,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,144,893,000 after purchasing an additional 86,824 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 24.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,489,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $311,979,000 after purchasing an additional 687,783 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in Brown & Brown by 105.1% during the second quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,068,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $184,930,000 after buying an additional 1,059,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Brown & Brown by 8.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,553,396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $138,899,000 after buying an additional 114,688 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Brown & Brown from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Brown & Brown from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $108.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Brown & Brown from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $94.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO R. Andrew Watts sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.32, for a total value of $250,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 88,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,872,802.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Brown & Brown news, CFO R. Andrew Watts sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.32, for a total transaction of $250,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 88,445 shares in the company, valued at $8,872,802.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Hyatt J. Brown sold 134,640 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.51, for a total value of $14,071,226.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 17.02% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Stock Up 1.4 %

BRO stock opened at $105.01 on Wednesday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a twelve month low of $66.73 and a twelve month high of $106.02. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $29.95 billion, a PE ratio of 32.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $101.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.67.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 21.95%. Brown & Brown’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th were paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 7th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is 16.00%.

Brown & Brown Profile

Brown & Brown, Inc markets and sells insurance products and services in the United States, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Retail, National Programs, Wholesale Brokerage, and Services. The Retail segment provides property and casualty, employee benefits insurance products, personal insurance products, specialties insurance products, risk management strategies, loss control survey and analysis, consultancy, and claims processing services.