Brooklyn Investment Group Purchases Shares of 253 Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $26,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BRO. Studio Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 6,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $675,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 0.5% during the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 20,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,819,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 4.3% during the third quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 2,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its position in Brown & Brown by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 29,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,097,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Brown & Brown by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 22,929 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,375,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

BRO opened at $113.10 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 12-month low of $69.13 and a 12-month high of $114.15. The business has a 50 day moving average of $107.21 and a 200-day moving average of $99.83. The stock has a market cap of $32.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.82, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.82.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.03. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 17.12% and a net margin of 22.65%. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. This is a positive change from Brown & Brown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is 16.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BRO. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $98.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $108.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Argus assumed coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Brown & Brown from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 2nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Brown & Brown from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.42.

About Brown & Brown

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.