Washington Trust Bank Sells 713 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Washington Trust Bank cut its position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 14.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 713 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $451,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bares Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Brown & Brown during the first quarter valued at $26,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the first quarter worth $31,000. SouthState Corp boosted its position in Brown & Brown by 188.6% in the 1st quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, Motco bought a new position in Brown & Brown in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. 71.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Trading Down 1.9%

NYSE:BRO opened at $76.40 on Friday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52-week low of $76.17 and a 52-week high of $125.68. The company has a market capitalization of $26.08 billion, a PE ratio of 22.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $90.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.47. The company has a quick ratio of 6.72, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

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

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 5th will be issued a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 5th. This is a positive change from Brown & Brown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Brown & Brown’s payout ratio is presently 19.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on BRO shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $98.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Brown & Brown from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $92.00 to $79.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Brown & Brown from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $105.23.

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.