Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO Stock Purchased by Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 492.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,495 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 36,158 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $2,900,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRO. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,418,571,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Brown & Brown by 1.6% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,608,720 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,017,847,000 after purchasing an additional 246,172 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in Brown & Brown during the second quarter worth $266,941,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 45.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,623,179 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $236,268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128,417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Brown & Brown by 5.1% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,569,784 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $232,786,000 after acquiring an additional 173,320 shares during the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BRO has been the topic of several research reports. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $83.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Brown & Brown from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Brown & Brown from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $76.00.

Key Headlines Impacting Brown & Brown

Here are the key news stories impacting Brown & Brown this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue increased 7.4% year over year to $1.725 billion, while net income attributable to Brown & Brown rose 5.7% to $240 million. Adjusted diluted EPS increased 1.9% to $1.07. Brown & Brown third-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: For the first nine months, revenue grew 23.4% to $5.3 billion and net income increased 20.8% to $954 million, supported partly by the integration of approximately 5,000 employees from the Accession acquisition. Brown & Brown nine-month results
• Neutral Sentiment: Management said the company continued winning customers despite a challenging insurance-rate environment. Investors will look for additional detail during the October 27 conference call regarding organic growth, acquisition integration and the outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Adjusted EPS of $1.07 fell short of the $1.08 consensus estimate, while revenue of $1.70 billion missed the $1.76 billion analyst forecast. Brown & Brown misses third-quarter estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Core organic revenue grew only 1.2%—1.5% including contingents—raising concerns that reported growth remains heavily dependent on acquisitions. Adjusted EBITDAC margin declined to 34.6% from 36.6%, and diluted GAAP EPS decreased 1.5% to $0.67. Brown & Brown organic growth and margin results

Brown & Brown Stock Down 2.1%

Brown & Brown stock opened at $71.44 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $23.90 billion, a PE ratio of 22.54, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.60. The firm's fifty day moving average is $67.25 and its 200 day moving average is $67.09. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.81 and a 12-month high of $89.05.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.01). Brown & Brown had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 4th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. This is a positive change from Brown & Brown's previous quarterly dividend of $0.1650. Brown & Brown's payout ratio is presently 20.82%.

Brown & Brown Profile

Brown & Brown, Inc is an insurance brokerage and risk management company headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida. The company helps businesses, public entities, individuals and other organizations identify, manage and transfer risk by arranging insurance coverage and providing related advisory services.

Its operations include retail insurance brokerage, national programs, wholesale brokerage and services. Brown & Brown offers property and casualty insurance, employee benefits, personal insurance, surety and other specialized coverage.

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