45,137 Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO Shares Bought by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 749,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,137 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $45,638,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Continuum Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Brown & Brown in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Brown & Brown in the second quarter worth about $35,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Brown & Brown in the second quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 175.1% in the third quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Trading Down 0.4%

Brown & Brown stock opened at $70.63 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $67.15 and its 200-day moving average is $65.02. 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 1 year low of $53.81 and a 1 year high of $90.46. The company has a market cap of $23.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.28, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.60.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last posted its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 30.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. This is a positive change from Brown & Brown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.1650. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 4th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BRO has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays cut their price objective on Brown & Brown from $76.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Brown & Brown from $83.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Brown & Brown from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $77.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, October 12th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $73.00 price target (up from $65.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Brown & Brown from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.00.

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.