Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired 24,464 shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. valued at approximately $3,043,000 during the first quarter, as revealed in their latest SEC filing.
• Brown & Brown reported a quarterly EPS of $1.03, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.99, with a revenue increase of 9.1% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, with the ex-dividend date set for August 13th, representing a 0.7% yield.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 24,464 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,043,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,940,046 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,609,742,000 after buying an additional 38,078 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,195,681 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $428,043,000 after buying an additional 566,116 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,803,616 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $388,045,000 after buying an additional 388,411 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,882,426 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $294,065,000 after buying an additional 56,033 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 626.6% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Shares of BRO traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $92.46. 251,245 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,531,297. The business's 50-day moving average price is $106.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $111.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 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. 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 posted 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 business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.93 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current 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 paid 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 is Wednesday, August 13th. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Edward Jones assumed coverage on Brown & Brown in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Brown & Brown from $104.00 to $87.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Brown & Brown from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $126.00 to $119.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Truist Financial set a $120.00 price target on Brown & Brown in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Brown & Brown from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $126.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus 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.