Steph & Co. Takes Position in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Steph & Co. purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 1st quarter worth $1,929,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 104.4% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 7.1% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 6,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $847,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 2.5% in the first quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 764,709 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $95,130,000 after purchasing an additional 18,677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 172.5% in the first quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 1,314,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $163,516,000 after purchasing an additional 832,100 shares during the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Shares of BRO opened at $92.69 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $30.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.71, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.81. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a twelve month low of $89.99 and a twelve month high of $125.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 6.72 and a current ratio of 6.72. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $95.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.88.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period last year, the business posted $0.93 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 13th. Brown & Brown’s payout ratio is 17.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Brown & Brown from $104.00 to $87.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America upgraded shares of Brown & Brown from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $126.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $109.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price target on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.08.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Paul J. Krump bought 2,678 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $93.31 per share, for a total transaction of $249,884.18. Following the purchase, the director owned 5,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $499,488.43. The trade was a 100.11% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $91.44 per share, with a total value of $91,440.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 17.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.