Point72 DIFC Ltd Takes $117,000 Position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $117,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BRO. Congress Asset Management Co. MA bought a new stake in Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,445,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in Brown & Brown by 105.1% in the 2nd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,068,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $184,930,000 after buying an additional 1,059,711 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Brown & Brown by 76.2% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,000,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $142,236,000 after buying an additional 865,082 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Brown & Brown in the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,598,000. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its position in Brown & Brown by 50.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,413,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $123,714,000 after buying an additional 473,982 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

BRO opened at $102.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52-week low of $66.73 and a 52-week high of $106.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.28 billion, a PE ratio of 31.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $101.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.45.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.05. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 21.95%. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 7th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.00%.

Insider Activity at Brown & Brown

In related news, CFO R. Andrew Watts sold 2,500 shares of Brown & Brown stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.32, for a total transaction of $250,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,445 shares in the company, valued at $8,872,802.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Brown & Brown news, Chairman Hyatt J. Brown sold 134,640 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.51, for a total value of $14,071,226.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO R. Andrew Watts sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.32, for a total value of $250,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,445 shares in the company, valued at $8,872,802.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BRO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays initiated coverage on Brown & Brown in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $108.00 price target on the stock. Argus initiated coverage on Brown & Brown in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Brown & Brown from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Brown & Brown from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Brown & Brown from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $94.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.67.

Brown & Brown Profile

Brown & Brown, Inc markets and sells insurance products and services in the United States, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Retail, National Programs, Wholesale Brokerage, and Services. The Retail segment provides property and casualty, employee benefits insurance products, personal insurance products, specialties insurance products, risk management strategies, loss control survey and analysis, consultancy, and claims processing services.