Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO Stock: New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Boosts Holdings

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lifted its holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 419.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 60,828 shares during the quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $5,017,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BRO. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Brown & Brown in the second quarter valued at $1,418,571,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 2nd quarter worth about $266,941,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the 2nd quarter worth about $228,051,000. Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the 2nd quarter worth about $138,630,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the 2nd quarter valued at about $88,589,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Stock Down 0.7%

Brown & Brown stock opened at $71.35 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.67 billion, a PE ratio of 22.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50-day moving average is $66.93 and its 200-day moving average is $66.56. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.81 and a fifty-two week high of $82.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.96.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.01). Brown & Brown had a net margin of 17.63% and a return on equity of 13.29%. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 4th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This is a positive change from Brown & Brown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.1650. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 4th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on BRO. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Brown & Brown in a research report on Monday, October 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on 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. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Brown & Brown from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Brown & Brown from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Brown & Brown from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.47.

About Brown & Brown

Brown & Brown, Inc. is an insurance brokerage and risk management company that helps businesses, public entities and individuals assess and manage risk. Its services include arranging property and casualty insurance, employee benefits and personal insurance, as well as providing risk management and related services. The company serves clients through retail insurance operations, national insurance programs, wholesale brokerage and insurance-related services. It operates primarily in the United States and also serves clients in international markets.