Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) is Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s 7th Largest Position

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 400,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,298 shares during the quarter. Brown & Brown makes up about 2.5% of Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of Brown & Brown worth $49,774,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BRO. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG purchased a new position in Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter valued at about $907,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 20,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,123,000 after buying an additional 1,986 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 60,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,160,000 after buying an additional 3,361 shares in the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter worth approximately $348,000. Finally, Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,189,000. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of BRO stock opened at $96.01 on Thursday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.38 and a fifty-two week high of $125.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.67, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $103.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 6.72 and a current ratio of 6.72.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 19.89%. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.93 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 target price (down previously from $125.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Monday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Brown & Brown from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $126.00 to $119.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $104.00 to $87.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Brown & Brown from $122.00 to $106.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Brown & Brown from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $126.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.93.

Insider Transactions at Brown & Brown

In other news, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada bought 1,000 shares of Brown & Brown stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $91.44 per share, with a total value of $91,440.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $457,200. This trade represents a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Paul J. Krump bought 2,678 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $93.31 per share, for a total transaction of $249,884.18. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,353 shares in the company, valued at $499,488.43. The trade was a 100.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 17.02% of the company’s stock.

About Brown & Brown

Brown & Brown, Inc is an insurance agency, wholesale brokerage, insurance program and service organization. It engages in the provision of insurance brokerage services and casualty insurance underwriting services. It operates through the following segments: Retail, National Programs, Wholesale Brokerage, and Services.