Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Position in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 35.6% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 10,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,893 shares during the quarter. Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $1,325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 26.8% during the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,312 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $536,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC boosted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $399,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 2,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brown & Brown

In other Brown & Brown news, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $91.44 per share, with a total value of $91,440.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at $457,200. This trade represents a 25.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Paul J. Krump purchased 2,678 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $93.31 per share, with a total value of $249,884.18. Following the purchase, the director owned 5,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $499,488.43. This represents a 100.11% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 17.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BRO shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Brown & Brown from $122.00 to $106.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Brown & Brown from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $126.00 to $119.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Citigroup started coverage on Brown & Brown in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered Brown & Brown from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, Bank of America raised Brown & Brown from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $126.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Brown & Brown presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.64.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BRO opened at $97.02 on Friday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.38 and a 1-year high of $125.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 6.72 and a quick ratio of 6.72. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $100.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.00 billion, a PE ratio of 27.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.78.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 19.89%.The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.93 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.29%.

Brown & Brown Company 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.