Cetera Investment Advisers Buys 7,598 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. by 20.9% during the 1st quarter, holding a total of 43,878 shares valued at approximately $5.46 million.
• Analysts have mixed views on Brown & Brown, with price targets ranging from $87.00 to $130.00 and a consensus rating of "Hold".
• Brown & Brown recently reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, exceeding estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share.

Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 20.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,878 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,598 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $5,458,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BRO. Capital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the 1st quarter valued at $1,929,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 104.4% during the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 419 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 6,807 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $847,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Brown & Brown by 395.6% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 34,197 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,489,000 after buying an additional 27,297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 2.5% during the first quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 764,709 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $95,130,000 after buying an additional 18,677 shares during the period. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

NYSE:BRO traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $92.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,981,629 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,547,635. The company has a current ratio of 6.72, a quick ratio of 6.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $30.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.72, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.78. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $106.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $111.28. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.55 and a 12-month high of $125.68.

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

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on BRO. Bank of America raised Brown & Brown from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $126.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Brown & Brown from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $126.00 to $119.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $120.00 target price (down previously from $125.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Monday. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Brown & Brown from $127.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $114.69.

Brown & Brown Company Profile

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.