Cannell & Co. Increases Stock Position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Cannell & Co. increased its position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 19.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the quarter. Cannell & Co.’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $416,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRO. Kentucky Retirement Systems lifted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 18,585 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Brown & Brown by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Advisor Partners II LLC increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 11,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $680,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR raised its position in Brown & Brown by 0.7% in the first quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 25,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,481,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.33% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Shares of BRO opened at $73.20 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.83 billion, a PE ratio of 27.83 and a beta of 0.76. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $71.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.85. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.82 and a 12-month high of $74.57.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.09. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 18.08% and a return on equity of 15.72%. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 2.75 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 1st will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This is an increase from Brown & Brown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 31st. Brown & Brown’s payout ratio is presently 19.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $77.00 target price on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Friday, September 15th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $62.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Stephen M. Boyd sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.64, for a total value of $176,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,554,231.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 16.58% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Company 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.