Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Makes New Investment in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• Mirae Asset Global Investments opened a position in Brown & Brown, buying 100,827 shares valued at approximately $6.14 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.01% of the company.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $75.47; 7 analysts rate the stock Buy or Strong Buy, 13 Hold, and 1 Sell.
• Brown & Brown’s latest quarterly revenue rose 7.4% year over year to $1.70 billion, but missed estimates, as did EPS. The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.18 per share.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 100,827 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,140,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,587,071 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $157,553,000 after purchasing an additional 180,593 shares in the last quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 6.4% during the third quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board now owns 8,996 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $548,000 after buying an additional 545 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 0.5% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 126,971 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,733,000 after buying an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 7.3% in the third quarter. Access Investment Management LLC now owns 17,169 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,046,000 after buying an additional 1,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pullen Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 101.2% in the third quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 35,053 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,259,000 after buying an additional 17,628 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on BRO shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Brown & Brown from $69.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 12th. Oppenheimer started coverage on Brown & Brown in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on Brown & Brown from $73.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Brown & Brown from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $77.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, October 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $75.47.

Brown & Brown Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of BRO stock opened at $74.43 on Friday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $66.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.96. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 1-year low of $53.81 and a 1-year high of $82.57. The firm has a market cap of $24.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.56, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.52.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.01). Brown & Brown had a net margin of 17.63% and a return on equity of 13.29%. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. Brown & Brown's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 4th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from Brown & Brown's previous quarterly dividend of $0.1650. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.78%.

About Brown & Brown

Brown & Brown, Inc is an insurance brokerage and risk management company headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida. The company helps businesses, public entities, individuals and other organizations identify, manage and transfer risk by arranging insurance coverage and providing related advisory services.

Its operations include retail insurance brokerage, national programs, wholesale brokerage and services. Brown & Brown offers property and casualty insurance, employee benefits, personal insurance, surety and other specialized coverage.

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