Brightwater Advisory LLC Buys New Holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Brightwater Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $238,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BRO. Congress Asset Management Co. MA acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,445,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in Brown & Brown by 105.1% during the 2nd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,068,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $184,930,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059,711 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Brown & Brown by 24.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,489,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $311,979,000 after purchasing an additional 687,783 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,598,000. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its position in Brown & Brown by 50.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,413,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $123,714,000 after purchasing an additional 473,982 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

NYSE BRO opened at $105.01 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $101.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.67. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52 week low of $66.73 and a 52 week high of $106.02. The stock has a market cap of $29.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 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.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.05. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 21.95%. The business had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. Analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BRO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Brown & Brown from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $94.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Brown & Brown from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Argus initiated coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $104.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.67.

Insider Activity at Brown & Brown

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

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.