The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Lowers Stock Holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 1.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,344,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 36,469 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.71% of Brown & Brown worth $259,907,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BRO. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 48.5% during the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 98,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,973,000 after acquiring an additional 32,301 shares during the period. Faithward Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 3.2% during the second quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 30,750 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,409,000 after purchasing an additional 953 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 572.8% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 539,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,799,000 after purchasing an additional 459,202 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 47.3% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 631,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,049,000 after purchasing an additional 203,006 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 204.0% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 57,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,393,000 after purchasing an additional 38,694 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Shares of BRO stock opened at $77.49 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $83.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.98. The company has a market cap of $26.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.20, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.82. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.17 and a 12 month high of $125.68.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.54 billion. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 13.64% and a net margin of 18.23%.Brown & Brown’s quarterly revenue was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 5th were issued a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. This is a positive change from Brown & Brown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 5th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $98.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Brown & Brown from $120.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $97.00 target price (down from $135.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Citigroup cut Brown & Brown from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Brown & Brown has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.69.

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.