Hsbc Holdings PLC Grows Position in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 610,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,643 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.18% of Brown & Brown worth $48,744,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new position in Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter worth $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BRO. Bank of America reduced their price target on Brown & Brown from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Brown & Brown in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. They issued a “market outperform” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Brown & Brown from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Brown & Brown from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director H Palmer Proctor, Jr. bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $57.10 per share, with a total value of $114,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 47,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,719,159.10. This trade represents a 4.38% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 13.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

NYSE:BRO opened at $60.56 on Wednesday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.81 and a 52-week high of $111.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.11 and a 200 day moving average of $68.74. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $20.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.63.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.29 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

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 $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is 21.22%.

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.