Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. Purchases 5,825 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. by 13.1% during Q2, holding 50,416 shares valued at $5.59 million.
• A variety of institutional investors also raised their positions in Brown & Brown, reflecting strong interest in the company with 71.01% of its stock owned by these investors.
• Analysts have downgraded Brown & Brown from "overweight" to "equal weight," with target prices decreasing; the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" with a consensus price target of $112.64.

Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 13.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 50,416 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 5,825 shares during the period. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $5,590,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Brown & Brown by 1.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,501,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,794,339,000 after buying an additional 560,980 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Brown & Brown by 0.3% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown during the first quarter worth $899,139,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 8.3% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,120,135 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $512,545,000 after acquiring an additional 316,519 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 6.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,063,741 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $381,129,000 after acquiring an additional 181,315 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Brown & Brown from $122.00 to $106.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Brown & Brown in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut Brown & Brown from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. Bank of America raised Brown & Brown from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $126.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $120.00 price objective (down from $125.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Monday, August 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.64.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada purchased 1,000 shares of Brown & Brown stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $91.44 per share, for a total transaction of $91,440.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $457,200. This represents a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Paul J. Krump purchased 2,678 shares of Brown & Brown stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $93.31 per share, for a total transaction of $249,884.18. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,353 shares in the company, valued at $499,488.43. This represents a 100.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 17.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

NYSE BRO traded down $0.08 on Friday, hitting $91.79. 6,468,431 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,179,395. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $96.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.61. The company has a market cap of $30.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 6.72, a quick ratio of 6.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 1-year low of $89.99 and a 1-year high of $125.68.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio is 17.29%.

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.