Cetera Investment Advisers Boosts Stock Holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 60.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,313 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $2,444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,355,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,482,223,000 after purchasing an additional 203,105 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 0.7% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,804,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,144,893,000 after buying an additional 86,824 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Brown & Brown by 24.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,489,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $311,979,000 after acquiring an additional 687,783 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 8.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,553,396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $138,899,000 after purchasing an additional 114,688 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brown & Brown Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:BRO opened at $104.75 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.88 billion, a PE ratio of 32.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 1 year low of $66.73 and a 1 year high of $106.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $102.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.81.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 21.95%. Brown & Brown’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 3.69 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 7th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on BRO. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Brown & Brown from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $98.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on Brown & Brown from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.33.

Insider Activity at Brown & Brown

In other Brown & Brown 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 transaction of $250,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 88,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,872,802.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO R. Andrew Watts sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $8,872,802.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 17.02% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Company 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.