AXQ Capital LP Buys Shares of 2,469 Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

AXQ Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $274,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of BRO. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in Brown & Brown by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 7,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $924,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Brown & Brown by 63.3% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 11,833 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,472,000 after purchasing an additional 4,589 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 20.9% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 43,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,458,000 after buying an additional 7,598 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 4.1% during the first quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 52,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,535,000 after buying an additional 2,077 shares during the period. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown during the first quarter worth approximately $425,000. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brown & Brown Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE BRO opened at $79.35 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 6.72, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $87.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.51. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52-week low of $76.17 and a 52-week high of $125.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.76, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.77.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 18.23% and a return on equity of 13.64%. The firm’s revenue was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 5th were issued a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 5th. 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%. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BRO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Thursday, November 20th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Brown & Brown from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Brown & Brown from $122.00 to $106.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays dropped their price target on Brown & Brown from $102.00 to $84.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Brown & Brown from $120.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.69.

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.