Pullen Investment Management LLC Acquires New Position in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Pullen Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 17,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,123,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the second quarter valued at $30,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Maseco LLP purchased a new position in Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter valued at $60,000. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Shares of BRO stock opened at $59.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $60.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.11. The company has a market cap of $20.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.97, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.63. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.81 and a 12 month high of $111.10.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.03. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 17.94%.The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.29 earnings per share. Brown & Brown’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BRO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Brown & Brown from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Brown & Brown from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brown & Brown has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.44.

Insider Activity at Brown & Brown

In other Brown & Brown news, Director H Palmer Proctor, Jr. acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $57.10 per share, for a total transaction of $114,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 47,621 shares in the company, valued at $2,719,159.10. The trade was a 4.38% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 13.13% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Company Profile

Brown & Brown, Inc (NYSE: BRO) is a professional insurance brokerage and risk advisory firm that provides a broad range of property and casualty, employee benefits, personal risk, and specialty insurance products. The company works with commercial, public sector and individual clients to design and place insurance programs, manage claims and loss control, and deliver risk management consulting. Its services also include wholesale brokerage, program administration and other specialty distribution solutions that connect carriers and intermediaries to niche markets.

Brown & Brown operates through a decentralized model of operating units and subsidiaries, enabling local client service with the scale to access national and specialty markets.