Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO Stake Cut by Amalgamated Bank

Amalgamated Bank cut its position in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 3.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 50,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,774 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $5,595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bares Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Optimum Investment Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. SouthState Corp raised 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 in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Motco purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. 71.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

BRO opened at $79.81 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $92.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.47. The company has a quick ratio of 6.72, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 12-month low of $79.30 and a 12-month high of $125.68.

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

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th will be issued a $0.165 dividend. This is an increase from Brown & Brown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 5th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Brown & Brown’s payout ratio is 17.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Brown & Brown news, Director Paul J. Krump bought 2,678 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $93.31 per share, with a total value of $249,884.18. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $499,488.43. This represents a 100.11% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $91.44 per share, for a total transaction of $91,440.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $457,200. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 17.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BRO shares. Bank of America raised Brown & Brown from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $126.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Brown & Brown from $98.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings lowered Brown & Brown from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Brown & Brown from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Brown & Brown from $122.00 to $106.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $108.38.

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.