Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO Stock Holdings Boosted by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. by 107.3%, acquiring a total of 59,350 shares valued at approximately $6.45 million.
• Analysts have varying ratings for Brown & Brown, with seven giving a Buy rating and one a Sell rating, resulting in an average target price of $112.08.
• Brown & Brown reported a 9.1% year-over-year revenue increase for the latest quarter, achieving $1.29 billion and exceeding analyst estimates.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 107.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,350 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 30,714 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $6,451,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC grew its position in Brown & Brown by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 26.8% in the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 454 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 2.3% in the first quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,312 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $536,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 3.3% in the first quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $399,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 4.2% during the first quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 2,530 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BRO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price target on Brown & Brown from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Brown & Brown from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $126.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $120.00 price objective (down previously from $125.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $104.00 to $87.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Argus reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $112.08.

Brown & Brown Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of BRO opened at $92.14 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $95.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $107.16. The company has a quick ratio of 6.72, a current ratio of 6.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.80. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 12-month low of $89.99 and a 12-month high of $125.68.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 19.89%.Brown & Brown's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 13th. Brown & Brown's payout ratio is presently 17.29%.

Insider Activity at Brown & Brown

In related news, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada acquired 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $91.44 per share, with a total value of $91,440.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at $457,200. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul J. Krump bought 2,678 shares of Brown & Brown stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $93.31 per share, for a total transaction of $249,884.18. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 5,353 shares in the company, valued at $499,488.43. This represents a 100.11% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 15.59% of the company's stock.

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.

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