Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO Shares Purchased by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 21,112.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,285,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,279,429 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. owned approximately 0.38% of Brown & Brown worth $78,286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BRO. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Brown & Brown in the second quarter valued at about $1,418,571,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 1.6% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,608,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,017,847,000 after purchasing an additional 246,172 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the second quarter worth approximately $266,941,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 45.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,623,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $236,268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128,417 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Brown & Brown by 5.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,569,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $232,786,000 after purchasing an additional 173,320 shares during the period. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 price target (up from $65.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Friday, June 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.00.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BRO traded up $1.44 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $69.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,220,368 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,491,204. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $67.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.92. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a one year low of $53.81 and a one year high of $90.46. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.60.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.01). Brown & Brown had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

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

Brown & Brown Company Profile

Brown & Brown, Inc is an independent insurance brokerage, risk management and employee benefits firm headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida. The company helps businesses, public entities and individuals identify, manage and transfer risk through insurance placement, risk consulting and related services.

Its offerings include property and casualty insurance, employee benefits, personal insurance, surety products, risk management services and specialized insurance programs. Brown & Brown also operates wholesale brokerage businesses that provide coverage solutions and access to insurance markets for retail agents and brokers, including products designed for specialty and hard-to-place risks.

Founded in 1939 by J.