Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Acquires 2,925 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 1.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 171,763 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,925 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned 0.06% of Brown & Brown worth $21,367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BRO. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter worth approximately $907,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 395.6% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 34,197 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,489,000 after purchasing an additional 27,297 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 118,797 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,120,000 after purchasing an additional 9,631 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 96,426 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,837,000 after purchasing an additional 1,875 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 379,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,680,000 after purchasing an additional 1,690 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Stock Up 0.9%

BRO traded up $0.80 on Thursday, reaching $92.60. 4,129,265 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,690,286. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $105.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.83. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.38 and a 52-week high of $125.68. The company has a market cap of $30.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.69, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 6.72 and a quick ratio of 6.72.

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. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 15.10%. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be given 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 payout ratio is presently 17.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BRO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Argus restated a "hold" rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $120.00 price target (down previously from $125.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $122.00 to $106.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $104.00 to $87.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $114.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Brown & Brown news, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada bought 1,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the director directly owned 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $457,200. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 17.02% of the company's stock.

Brown & Brown 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.