Financial Advocates Investment Management Buys Shares of 4,542 Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Financial Advocates Investment Management acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 4,542 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $406,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp bought a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. First PREMIER Bank bought a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. Intelligent Financial Strategies bought a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Brown & Brown by 142.3% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 550 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Shares of Brown & Brown stock traded up $0.77 on Thursday, reaching $104.65. 924,800 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,238,810. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.85 billion, a PE ratio of 32.20, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a 50 day moving average of $96.69 and a 200 day moving average of $89.58. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52 week low of $66.73 and a 52 week high of $105.02.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.18 billion during 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 revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th were paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Brown & Brown's payout ratio is presently 16.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brown & Brown

In other Brown & Brown news, EVP Julie Turpin sold 3,350 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.92, for a total value of $301,232.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,597 shares in the company, valued at $2,121,842.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO R. Andrew Watts sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.32, for a total transaction of $250,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,872,802.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Julie Turpin sold 3,350 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.92, for a total value of $301,232.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,597 shares in the company, valued at $2,121,842.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 17.02% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on BRO. Raymond James boosted their price target 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Brown & Brown from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Brown & Brown from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $91.00 to $101.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $99.20.

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.