Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO Shares Sold by Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund trimmed its position in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 38.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,111,607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 697,267 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned approximately 0.33% of Brown & Brown worth $88,595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BRO. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brown & Brown Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of Brown & Brown stock opened at $59.96 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $61.11 and a 200-day moving average of $69.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The company 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. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 1-year low of $53.81 and a 1-year high of $111.10.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 17.94%.The company’s revenue was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on BRO shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Brown & Brown from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Citigroup started coverage on Brown & Brown in a report on Thursday, May 21st. They issued a “market outperform” rating for the company. Citizens Jmp started coverage on Brown & Brown in a report on Thursday, May 21st. They issued a “market outperform” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Brown & Brown from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Brown & Brown from $82.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.44.

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 dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $57.10 per share, for a total transaction of $114,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 13.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Brown & Brown Company 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.