47,512 Shares in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO Purchased by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 47,512 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,039,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRO. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new position in Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Brown & Brown in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Brown & Brown during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Shares of BRO stock opened at $73.32 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $69.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 2.11. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.81 and a 52-week high of $97.49. The stock has a market cap of $24.53 billion, a PE ratio of 23.13, a PEG ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.59.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.01). Brown & Brown had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 30.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th were issued a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 12th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BRO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective (up from $65.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Brown & Brown from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Barclays upped their price target on Brown & Brown from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Brown & Brown from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.80.

About Brown & Brown

Brown & Brown, Inc (NYSE: BRO) is a professional insurance brokerage and risk advisory firm that provides a broad range of property and casualty, employee benefits, personal risk, and specialty insurance products. The company works with commercial, public sector and individual clients to design and place insurance programs, manage claims and loss control, and deliver risk management consulting. Its services also include wholesale brokerage, program administration and other specialty distribution solutions that connect carriers and intermediaries to niche markets.

Brown & Brown operates through a decentralized model of operating units and subsidiaries, enabling local client service with the scale to access national and specialty markets.