Mackenzie Financial Corp Grows Stock Holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Key Points

• Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. by 6.4%, owning 100,090 shares valued at approximately $12.45 million.
• Several institutional investors significantly boosted their shares in Brown & Brown, with First Trust Advisors LP increasing its position by 626.6% in the last quarter.
• Brown & Brown announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, equating to an annualized dividend of $0.60 and a yield of 0.7%.

Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 6.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 100,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,997 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp's holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $12,451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 534.1% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 279 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 581.8% during the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the first quarter worth $31,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the first quarter worth $46,000. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 104.4% during the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 419 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Shares of Brown & Brown stock traded down $0.84 on Tuesday, hitting $91.86. 1,714,846 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,541,640. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $106.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.19. 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 company has a market cap of $30.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.78. 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 results on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 15.10%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Brown & Brown's payout ratio is currently 17.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Brown & Brown from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $126.00 to $119.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Edward Jones started coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $120.00 target price (down from $125.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.