Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $12.75 Million Stock Holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Handelsbanken Fonder AB trimmed its position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 89.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 135,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,124,100 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $12,749,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in Brown & Brown by 423.1% in 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 period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the 2nd quarter worth $49,000. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown in the 2nd quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in Brown & Brown by 4,369.2% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the period. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brown & Brown Stock Up 0.7%

BRO opened at $71.70 on Monday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.68 and a fifty-two week high of $125.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.41, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50-day moving average is $75.34 and its 200 day moving average is $83.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 17.84% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 35.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. Research analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 4th were issued a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 4th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on BRO shares. Mizuho upgraded shares of Brown & Brown from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $84.00 to $85.00 in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $85.00 to $78.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $88.00 to $81.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $91.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Brown & Brown from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Brown & Brown has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.43.

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.