Covey Capital Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Covey Capital Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 25,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,042 shares during the period. Brown & Brown makes up 3.0% of Covey Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Covey Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $2,784,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bares Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Optimum Investment Advisors bought a new stake in Brown & Brown in the first quarter worth about $31,000. SouthState Corp lifted its stake in Brown & Brown by 188.6% in the first quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Brown & Brown by 298.5% in the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Motco purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $122.00 to $106.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $98.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America raised shares of Brown & Brown from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $126.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Brown & Brown from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brown & Brown presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $108.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brown & Brown

In related news, Director Paul J. Krump acquired 2,678 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $93.31 per share, for a total transaction of $249,884.18. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 5,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $499,488.43. This represents a 100.11% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were bought at an average price 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 position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 17.02% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:BRO opened at $80.46 on Friday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 12 month low of $79.68 and a 12 month high of $125.68. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $101.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 6.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $27.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.09, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.79.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.15. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 18.23% and a return on equity of 13.64%. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 5th. This is an increase from Brown & Brown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Brown & Brown’s payout ratio is presently 17.96%.

Brown & Brown Company Profile

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.