Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO Stock: Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Raises Position

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 1,210.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 538,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 497,031 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $36,284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Brown & Brown by 175.1% in the 3rd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the period. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Shares of Brown & Brown stock opened at $69.32 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.94. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.81 and a 12 month high of $90.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.87, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 2.11.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The business’s revenue was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th were paid a $0.1650 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 12th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BRO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $73.00 price target (up from $65.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Monday, October 12th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $83.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $69.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.00.

About Brown & Brown

Brown & Brown, Inc is an insurance brokerage and risk management company headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida. The company helps businesses, public entities, individuals and other organizations identify, manage and transfer risk by arranging insurance coverage and providing related advisory services.

Its operations include retail insurance brokerage, national programs, wholesale brokerage and services. Brown & Brown offers property and casualty insurance, employee benefits, personal insurance, surety and other specialized coverage.