Financial Advocates Investment Management Makes New $406,000 Investment in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Financial Advocates Investment Management purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $406,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter worth approximately $217,663,000. Congress Asset Management Co. MA bought a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,445,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 76.2% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 865,082 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Brown & Brown during the first quarter valued at approximately $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 purchasing an additional 500,847 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BRO shares. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Brown & Brown from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $94.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America raised Brown & Brown from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $91.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Brown & Brown from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Brown & Brown from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.20.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Shares of BRO traded up $0.76 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $104.64. 176,429 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,234,328. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $96.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.47. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52-week low of $66.73 and a 52-week high of $104.71. The company has a market cap of $29.85 billion, a PE ratio of 31.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35.

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

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Shareholders 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 payout ratio is currently 16.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brown & Brown

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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO R. Andrew Watts sold 2,500 shares of Brown & Brown stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.32, for a total transaction of $250,800.00. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Julie Turpin sold 3,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.92, for a total transaction of $301,232.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,121,842.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.