2,052 Shares in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Purchased by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,052 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $255,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,940,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,054,493,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335,964 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,099,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $620,737,000 after purchasing an additional 118,569 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,195,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $428,043,000 after purchasing an additional 566,116 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,803,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $388,045,000 after purchasing an additional 388,411 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter worth about $313,412,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of BRO opened at $108.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a current ratio of 2.52. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a one year low of $88.31 and a one year high of $125.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.28, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $111.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.92.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.01). Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 17.77% and a net margin of 20.84%. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Brown & Brown’s payout ratio is 16.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BRO. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $128.00 price target on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Brown & Brown from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Brown & Brown from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Brown & Brown from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $126.00 to $119.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Brown & Brown from $119.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $118.85.

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.