Novem Group Buys 2,397 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Novem Group lifted its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 31.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,397 shares during the quarter. Novem Group’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $1,238,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 4.3% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Pictet North America Advisors SA raised its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Pictet North America Advisors SA now owns 100,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,452,000 after acquiring an additional 7,172 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 16.7% in the 1st quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 45,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,604,000 after purchasing an additional 6,459 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 30,091 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,743,000 after purchasing an additional 4,371 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 8.6% during the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $328,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE BRO opened at $107.84 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $110.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $111.10. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52-week low of $88.94 and a 52-week 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 company has a market cap of $30.92 billion, a PE ratio of 30.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.82.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 17.77% and a net margin of 20.84%. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. Brown & Brown’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BRO shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Brown & Brown from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $128.00 price target on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Edward Jones assumed coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $122.00 target price (up from $116.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Thursday, June 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.