Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO Shares Bought by Cortland Associates Inc. MO

Cortland Associates Inc. MO raised its holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 98.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 353,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 175,188 shares during the period. Brown & Brown comprises about 3.1% of Cortland Associates Inc. MO’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Cortland Associates Inc. MO’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $21,548,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Equitable Trust Co. lifted its position in Brown & Brown by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 10,901 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $711,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 6,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 36,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,400,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 39.4% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 14.0% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

NYSE:BRO opened at $71.87 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 1.96. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.81 and a 52-week high of $82.57. The firm has a market cap of $23.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.60. The business’s fifty day moving average is $67.01 and its 200 day moving average is $66.81.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.01). Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 13.29% and a net margin of 17.63%. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from Brown & Brown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.1650. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 4th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BRO. Mizuho cut their target price on Brown & Brown from $83.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Brown & Brown from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $77.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, October 12th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Brown & Brown from $73.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Barclays dropped their price objective on Brown & Brown from $76.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.47.

About Brown & Brown

Brown & Brown, Inc is an insurance brokerage and risk management company headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida. The company helps businesses, public entities, individuals and other organizations identify, manage and transfer risk by arranging insurance coverage and providing related advisory services.

Its operations include retail insurance brokerage, national programs, wholesale brokerage and services. Brown & Brown offers property and casualty insurance, employee benefits, personal insurance, surety and other specialized coverage.