Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO Shares Sold by Hantz Financial Services Inc.

Hantz Financial Services Inc. reduced its holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 15.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,540 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $5,282,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BRO. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 423.1% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 36.9% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter worth approximately $60,000. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director H Palmer Proctor, Jr. acquired 2,000 shares of Brown & Brown stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $57.10 per share, for a total transaction of $114,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 47,621 shares in the company, valued at $2,719,159.10. This represents a 4.38% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 13.13% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Shares of Brown & Brown stock opened at $57.86 on Tuesday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a one year low of $53.81 and a one year high of $113.83. The company has a market cap of $19.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.61, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $63.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.92.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.03. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 17.94%.The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Argus upgraded Brown & Brown to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Brown & Brown from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays dropped their price target on Brown & Brown from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Brown & Brown from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Brown & Brown from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.44.

About Brown & Brown

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.