Versant Capital Management Inc Buys 234 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 130.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $42,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Brown & Brown by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 109,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,565,000 after purchasing an additional 21,574 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in Brown & Brown by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 6,157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $638,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Brown & Brown by 652.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 259,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,854,000 after acquiring an additional 224,772 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 3rd quarter valued at $58,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 161,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,104,000 after purchasing an additional 6,805 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE BRO opened at $100.81 on Tuesday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 1 year low of $70.89 and a 1 year high of $114.15. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $107.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $102.56. The company has a market cap of $28.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.47, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.73.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last issued 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. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 17.12% and a net margin of 22.65%. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. Brown & Brown’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. 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. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Argus started coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Brown & Brown from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Brown & Brown from $98.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Brown & Brown from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Brown & Brown from $108.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.46.

Brown & Brown Company Profile

Brown & Brown, Inc is an insurance agency, wholesale brokerage, insurance program and service organization. It engages in the provision of insurance brokerage services and casualty insurance underwriting services. It operates through the following segments: Retail, National Programs, Wholesale Brokerage, and Services.