Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO Stock Position Raised by Achmea Investment Management B.V.

Achmea Investment Management B.V. increased its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 9.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,110 shares during the quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $2,595,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BRO. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in Brown & Brown by 56.8% during the first quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 14,693 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,828,000 after buying an additional 5,323 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 103.6% in the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $529,000 after purchasing an additional 2,164 shares during the period. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the first quarter worth approximately $241,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 36.6% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Brown & Brown by 2.4% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 49,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,130,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of BRO stock opened at $78.51 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.77. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.17 and a 1 year high of $125.68. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $90.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 6.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.15. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 18.23% and a return on equity of 13.64%. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. This is a positive change from Brown & Brown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 5th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on BRO. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price 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. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $97.00 price objective (down from $135.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Brown & Brown from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Barclays cut their price target on Brown & Brown from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Brown & Brown currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.23.

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.