Harbour Investments Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 1,215.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,118 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc.’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $134,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bares Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Optimum Investment Advisors purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. SouthState Corp increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 188.6% during the first quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 298.5% during the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 1,129.6% during the second quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Brown & Brown news, Director Paul J. Krump purchased 2,678 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $93.31 per share, with a total value of $249,884.18. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 5,353 shares in the company, valued at $499,488.43. This trade represents a 100.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $91.44 per share, for a total transaction of $91,440.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $457,200. This represents a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 17.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on BRO. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $120.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $104.00 to $87.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $122.00 to $106.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $101.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.92.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

BRO opened at $89.14 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 6.72 and a quick ratio of 6.72. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.23. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 1-year low of $86.79 and a 1-year high of $125.68. The firm has a market cap of $29.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.69, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.79.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 15.10%. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.93 earnings per share. Brown & Brown’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 5th will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. This is a positive change from Brown & Brown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 5th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.29%.

Brown & Brown 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.