Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Purchases 1,118 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 33.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,118 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRO. Parnassus Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the 1st quarter worth approximately $899,139,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Brown & Brown in the first quarter valued at approximately $72,895,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Brown & Brown by 1.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,501,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,794,339,000 after acquiring an additional 560,980 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Brown & Brown by 66.0% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,169,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $145,540,000 after acquiring an additional 465,028 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 51.5% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 952,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $105,595,000 after acquiring an additional 323,733 shares during the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brown & Brown Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE BRO opened at $80.46 on Friday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a one year low of $79.68 and a one year high of $125.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 6.72. The firm has a market cap of $27.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $92.50 and its 200-day moving average is $101.88.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. This is a positive change from Brown & Brown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 5th. Brown & Brown’s payout ratio is currently 17.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BRO. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Brown & Brown from $98.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings cut Brown & Brown from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Brown & Brown from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Brown & Brown from $112.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Brown & Brown from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $126.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $108.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brown & Brown

In related news, Director Paul J. Krump bought 2,678 shares of Brown & Brown stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $93.31 per share, with a total value of $249,884.18. Following the purchase, the director owned 5,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $499,488.43. This trade represents a 100.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $91.44 per share, with a total value of $91,440.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $457,200. This represents a 25.00% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 17.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Brown & Brown Company Profile

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.