Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning Sells 2,539 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning lowered its stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 34.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,539 shares during the quarter. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $428,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Brown & Brown in the 3rd quarter valued at $371,000. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $752,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,403,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Brown & Brown by 34.0% in the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 15,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,054,000 after purchasing an additional 3,831 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in Brown & Brown by 14.3% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 21,989 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,536,000 after purchasing an additional 2,752 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BRO opened at $90.04 on Thursday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $66.73 and a fifty-two week high of $93.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $88.43 and a 200-day moving average of $82.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97. The stock has a market cap of $25.68 billion, a PE ratio of 27.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.82.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.07. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 16.43% and a net margin of 21.09%. The business had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. Brown & Brown’s payout ratio is 16.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Brown & Brown news, EVP Julie Turpin sold 3,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.92, for a total transaction of $301,232.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,121,842.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 16.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on BRO. Bank of America upgraded Brown & Brown from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $91.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. StockNews.com lowered Brown & Brown from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Brown & Brown from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Raymond James boosted their target price on Brown & Brown from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Brown & Brown from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.40.

About Brown & Brown

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.