Giverny Capital Inc. Has $61.57 Million Stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Giverny Capital Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 139.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 772,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 450,274 shares during the quarter. Brown & Brown comprises approximately 2.1% of Giverny Capital Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Giverny Capital Inc.’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $61,570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BRO. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 38.3% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 33,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,132,000 after purchasing an additional 9,264 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 5.2% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 11,149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,387,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 1,824.7% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 53,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,888,000 after purchasing an additional 50,344 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 27.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 60.9% during the second quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Trading Up 0.0%

BRO opened at $59.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.81 and a fifty-two week high of $111.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.32 billion, a PE ratio of 19.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.63. The company’s 50-day moving average is $61.11 and its 200 day moving average is $69.85.

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

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 21.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brown & Brown

In other Brown & Brown news, Director H Palmer Proctor, Jr. bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $57.10 per share, for a total transaction of $114,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 47,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,719,159.10. The trade was a 4.38% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 13.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. 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 report on Wednesday, April 8th. Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Thursday, May 21st. They set a “market outperform” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. 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 report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, April 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.44.

Brown & Brown Profile

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.