Virtu Financial LLC Raises Stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Virtu Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 39.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 10,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,003 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $955,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 267,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,390,000 after purchasing an additional 6,613 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Brown & Brown by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 276,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,169,000 after buying an additional 31,071 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,512,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 251,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,855,000 after acquiring an additional 27,879 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 339.1% during the 4th 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Trading Down 0.7 %

BRO opened at $102.48 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $100.37 and its 200-day moving average is $91.64. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52-week low of $66.73 and a 52-week high of $106.02. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.83.

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

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 7th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 7th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BRO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays started coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $108.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Brown & Brown from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Brown & Brown from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Bank of America upgraded Brown & Brown from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $91.00 to $101.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Brown & Brown from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.00.

Insider Activity at Brown & Brown

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

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.