Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Shares Purchased by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,374,678 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 18,143 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.48% of Brown & Brown worth $171,010,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 1.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,501,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,794,339,000 after acquiring an additional 560,980 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 0.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,940,046 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,609,742,000 after acquiring an additional 38,078 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,195,681 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $428,043,000 after acquiring an additional 566,116 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,882,426 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $294,065,000 after acquiring an additional 56,033 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Brown & Brown by 626.6% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,350,039 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $239,751,000 after buying an additional 2,026,589 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Brown & Brown Trading Down 0.8%

BRO stock traded down $0.77 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $95.14. 2,136,972 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,573,500. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.54. 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 capitalization of $31.38 billion, a PE ratio of 27.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.38 and a 1-year high of $125.68.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on BRO. Bank of America upgraded Brown & Brown from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $126.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Brown & Brown from $120.00 to $109.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Brown & Brown from $122.00 to $106.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Brown & Brown from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $126.00 to $119.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Argus reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $112.93.

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.