Ethic Inc. Buys 3,848 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. increased its holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. by 15.8%, now owning 28,275 shares valued at $3,509,000, indicating strong investor interest in the company.
• Brown & Brown's recent quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, reporting $1.03 EPS against a consensus estimate of $0.99, with a year-over-year revenue growth of 9.1%.
• Analyst ratings for Brown & Brown are mixed, with two sell ratings, seven hold ratings, and seven buy ratings, reflecting varied outlooks from Wall Street.

Ethic Inc. increased its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 15.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,275 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,848 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $3,509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Brown & Brown by 26.8% in the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 454 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Brown & Brown by 2.3% in the 1st 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 raised its holdings in Brown & Brown by 3.3% in the 1st 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 raised its holdings in Brown & Brown by 4.2% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brown & Brown Trading Down 0.4%

BRO traded down $0.4310 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $96.3590. The stock had a trading volume of 2,246,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,575,085. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 6.72 and a current ratio of 6.72. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $102.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $110.21. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52 week low of $90.38 and a 52 week 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. The firm 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%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.29%.

Insider Activity

In other Brown & Brown news, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada purchased 1,000 shares of Brown & Brown stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $91.44 per share, for a total transaction of $91,440.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $457,200. This trade represents a 25.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Paul J. Krump purchased 2,678 shares of Brown & Brown stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $93.31 per share, with a total value of $249,884.18. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,353 shares of the company's stock, valued at $499,488.43. This trade represents a 100.11% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 17.02% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BRO. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Brown & Brown from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $126.00 to $119.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Truist Financial set a $120.00 price objective on Brown & Brown in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Brown & Brown from $122.00 to $106.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Argus reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Brown & Brown from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.64.

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.