Renaissance Technologies LLC Invests $17.24 Million in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 192,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $17,241,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Brown & Brown at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $1,819,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 0.5% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 25,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,243,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Studio Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 2.1% in the second quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 6,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $574,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 5.6% in the second quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 2,505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 2.4% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,856 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $613,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Brown & Brown from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.00.

Insider Transactions at Brown & Brown

In other news, CFO R. Andrew Watts sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 88,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,872,802.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Hyatt J. Brown sold 134,640 shares of the firm’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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Brown & Brown Trading Down 0.4 %

BRO opened at $101.01 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $100.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.88. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $66.73 and a twelve month high of $106.02. The firm has a market cap of $28.81 billion, a PE ratio of 31.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.83.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 7th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is 16.00%.

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.