CWC Advisors LLC. Takes $393,000 Position in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• CWC Advisors LLC has acquired a new position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) valued at approximately $393,000, acquiring 3,542 shares during the second quarter.
• Multiple hedge funds have also adjusted their stakes in Brown & Brown, with Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increasing its position by 107.3% during the same period.
• Brown & Brown recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 17.29%.

CWC Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 3,542 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $393,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,929,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Brown & Brown by 104.4% in the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 419 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Brown & Brown by 7.1% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 6,807 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $847,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Brown & Brown by 2.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in Brown & Brown by 172.5% in the first quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 1,314,434 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $163,516,000 after buying an additional 832,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BRO shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $122.00 to $106.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Brown & Brown from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $104.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Bank of America raised shares of Brown & Brown from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $126.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.64.

Insider Transactions at Brown & Brown

In other Brown & Brown news, Director Paul J. Krump acquired 2,678 shares of Brown & Brown stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $93.31 per share, for a total transaction of $249,884.18. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,353 shares of the company's stock, valued at $499,488.43. This represents a 100.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada acquired 1,000 shares of Brown & Brown stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $91.44 per share, with a total value of $91,440.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 15.59% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Brown & Brown Stock Up 0.9%

BRO traded up $0.87 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $92.60. The company had a trading volume of 2,047,550 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,566,438. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52 week low of $89.99 and a 52 week high of $125.68. The company has a quick ratio of 6.72, a current ratio of 6.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $30.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.68, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.80. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $96.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $107.45.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during 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 business's revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 13th. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.29%.

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.