Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Acquires 3,630 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,832 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,630 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $1,090,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bares Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Brown & Brown by 298.5% during the 2nd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. SouthState Corp lifted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 188.6% in the 1st quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 1,129.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on BRO shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Brown & Brown from $122.00 to $106.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Brown & Brown from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Brown & Brown from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on 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, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective (down previously from $125.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Brown & Brown presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Brown & Brown Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of BRO opened at $87.79 on Friday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.26 and a 1 year high of $125.68. The company has a current ratio of 6.72, a quick ratio of 6.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $103.92. The stock has a market cap of $28.96 billion, a PE ratio of 25.30, a PEG ratio of 1.97 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 19.89%.The business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. Brown & Brown’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 13th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.29%.

About Brown & Brown

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.