Cullinan Associates Inc. Makes New Investment in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Cullinan Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 13,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,138,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Park Place Capital Corp lifted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 166.5% in the fourth quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp bought a new position in Brown & Brown during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its stake in Brown & Brown by 174.0% in the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First PREMIER Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Shares of BRO stock opened at $89.64 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $25.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.58, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s 50 day moving average is $88.27 and its 200 day moving average is $82.78. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52-week low of $66.53 and a 52-week high of $93.75.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.07. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 16.43% and a net margin of 21.09%. The company had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 3.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. Brown & Brown’s payout ratio is presently 16.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Julie Turpin sold 3,350 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,121,842.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 16.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on BRO. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Brown & Brown from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Brown & Brown from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Brown & Brown from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Brown & Brown from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.40.

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.