Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Increases Stock Position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 137,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,280 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $12,280,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BRO. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its stake in Brown & Brown by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 10,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $774,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 5,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $370,000 after acquiring an additional 942 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its stake in Brown & Brown by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 460,797 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,767,000 after purchasing an additional 79,237 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 41.2% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 40,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,876,000 after acquiring an additional 11,810 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 385,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,365,000 after buying an additional 62,020 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Brown & Brown from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Brown & Brown from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Brown & Brown from $104.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Brown & Brown from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $94.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average 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 dated 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 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 SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO R. Andrew Watts sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 88,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,872,802.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Hyatt J. Brown sold 134,640 shares of Brown & Brown stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.51, for a total transaction of $14,071,226.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

BRO stock opened at $102.21 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.04. The stock has a market cap of $29.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 1 year low of $66.73 and a 1 year high of $106.02.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 21.95%. Brown & Brown’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. Research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th were paid 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 was Wednesday, August 7th. Brown & Brown’s payout ratio is currently 16.00%.

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.