28,730 Shares in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO Bought by Wedmont Private Capital

Key Points

• Wedmont Private Capital acquired 28,730 Brown & Brown shares during the second quarter, worth approximately $1.94 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.01% of the company, with BlackRock, Norges Bank and others also building positions.
• Analysts maintain a broadly cautious outlook: Brown & Brown has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.80, despite several analysts recently raising their targets.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $1.07 and revenue of $1.65 billion, slightly missing estimates, while revenue still grew 30.4% year over year. Brown & Brown also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.165, implying a 0.9% annual yield.

Wedmont Private Capital acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 28,730 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,944,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,418,571,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $516,837,000. Capital International Investors bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $371,654,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Brown & Brown in the second quarter worth approximately $266,941,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Brown & Brown in the second quarter worth approximately $228,051,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on BRO shares. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $60.00 price target (up from $56.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Barclays increased their price objective on Brown & Brown from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Brown & Brown from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.80.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

NYSE BRO opened at $71.42 on Tuesday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.81 and a twelve month high of $96.55. The stock has a market cap of $23.90 billion, a PE ratio of 22.53, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 2.11.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The company's revenue was up 30.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th were paid a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 12th. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.82%.

Brown & Brown Company Profile

Brown & Brown, Inc NYSE: BRO is a professional insurance brokerage and risk advisory firm that provides a broad range of property and casualty, employee benefits, personal risk, and specialty insurance products. The company works with commercial, public sector and individual clients to design and place insurance programs, manage claims and loss control, and deliver risk management consulting. Its services also include wholesale brokerage, program administration and other specialty distribution solutions that connect carriers and intermediaries to niche markets.

Brown & Brown operates through a decentralized model of operating units and subsidiaries, enabling local client service with the scale to access national and specialty markets.

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