280 Shares in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Purchased by Ashton Thomas Securities LLC

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $29,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BRO. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 0.5% during the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 20,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,819,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. boosted its position in Brown & Brown by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 2,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 29,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,097,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 22,929 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,375,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 3,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:BRO opened at $109.55 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.13 and a 52-week high of $114.08. The stock has a market cap of $31.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.85, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $105.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.59.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 22.65% and a return on equity of 17.12%. Brown & Brown’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 3.73 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. This is a positive change from Brown & Brown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 6th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brown & Brown

In related news, Chairman Hyatt J. Brown sold 134,640 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.51, for a total transaction of $14,071,226.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 17.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on BRO. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Argus began coverage on Brown & Brown in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on Brown & Brown from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Brown & Brown from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.50.

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.