7,498 Shares in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Bought by Hanlon Investment Management Inc.

Hanlon Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 7,498 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $777,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 2.5% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 267,190 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $23,390,000 after purchasing an additional 6,613 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Brown & Brown by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 276,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $24,169,000 after purchasing an additional 31,071 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. bought a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,512,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 12.4% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 251,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $21,855,000 after purchasing an additional 27,879 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 6.0% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,174 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $365,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on BRO shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Brown & Brown from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus assumed coverage on Brown & Brown in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Brown & Brown from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Brown & Brown from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $106.50.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

BRO stock traded up $2.14 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $107.59. 1,029,623 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,322,082. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a current ratio of 1.73. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52 week low of $69.13 and a 52 week high of $107.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.77 billion, a PE ratio of 28.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $104.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.28.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 22.65% and a return on equity of 17.12%. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. Brown & Brown's revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 3.73 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 6th. This is an increase from Brown & Brown's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Hyatt J. Brown sold 134,640 shares of Brown & Brown stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.51, for a total transaction of $14,071,226.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Brown & Brown news, CFO R. Andrew Watts sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 88,445 shares in the company, valued at $8,872,802.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Hyatt J. Brown sold 134,640 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.51, for a total value of $14,071,226.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 16.43% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Brown & Brown

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.