H Palmer Proctor, Jr. Buys 2,000 Shares of Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Stock

Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Director H Palmer Proctor, Jr. bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $57.10 per share, for a total transaction of $114,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 47,621 shares in the company, valued at $2,719,159.10. This trade represents a 4.38% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

NYSE:BRO traded down $0.87 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $56.64. The stock had a trading volume of 3,257,165 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,338,988. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a twelve month low of $56.54 and a twelve month high of $113.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market cap of $19.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.21, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.66. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.65.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (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 earned $1.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brown & Brown

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRO. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in Brown & Brown by 423.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BRO has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $81.00 target price (down from $90.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Brown & Brown from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Brown & Brown from $82.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Brown & Brown from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Brown & Brown to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.73.

About Brown & Brown

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.