Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Invests $864,000 in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,944 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $864,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Running Oak Capital LLC grew its stake in Brown & Brown by 0.5% in the first quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 140,490 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $17,477,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the first quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Suncoast Equity Management raised its holdings in Brown & Brown by 14.8% during the first quarter. Suncoast Equity Management now owns 18,375 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,286,000 after purchasing an additional 2,365 shares in the last quarter. Monte Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Brown & Brown by 1.7% during the first quarter. Monte Financial Group LLC now owns 10,428 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,222,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAM Holding AG raised its holdings in Brown & Brown by 14.6% during the first quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 11,497 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,468 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BRO traded down $2.56 on Wednesday, hitting $108.39. 3,104,055 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,717,809. The company's 50 day moving average price is $110.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.92. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a one year low of $88.31 and a one year high of $125.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a current ratio of 2.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.19, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.84.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 20.84% and a return on equity of 17.77%. The business's revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. Research analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Brown & Brown's payout ratio is currently 16.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BRO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $128.00 price target on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $122.00 price objective (up from $116.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Edward Jones started coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $127.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $118.85.

About Brown & Brown

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.