Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Shares Acquired by Acadian Asset Management LLC

Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 36.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 185,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,300 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Brown & Brown worth $16,577,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter valued at $217,663,000. Congress Asset Management Co. MA acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter worth about $82,445,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Brown & Brown by 76.2% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,000,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $142,236,000 after buying an additional 865,082 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the 1st quarter worth about $49,598,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 339.1% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 648,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,118,000 after acquiring an additional 500,847 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

BRO opened at $103.72 on Tuesday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a twelve month low of $66.73 and a twelve month high of $106.02. The firm has a market cap of $29.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.91, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $90.78.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.05. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 21.95%. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 7th. Brown & Brown’s payout ratio is 16.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Hyatt J. Brown sold 134,640 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.51, for a total value of $14,071,226.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO R. Andrew Watts sold 2,500 shares of Brown & Brown stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.32, for a total value of $250,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 88,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,872,802.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Hyatt J. Brown sold 134,640 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.51, for a total value of $14,071,226.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 17.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BRO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. UBS Group upped their price target on Brown & Brown from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Brown & Brown from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Brown & Brown from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $94.00 to $112.00 in a report on Monday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

Brown & Brown Profile

Brown & Brown, Inc markets and sells insurance products and services in the United States, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Retail, National Programs, Wholesale Brokerage, and Services. The Retail segment provides property and casualty, employee benefits insurance products, personal insurance products, specialties insurance products, risk management strategies, loss control survey and analysis, consultancy, and claims processing services.