Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Shares Sold by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV decreased its holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 59.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 17,351 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $1,236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its position in Brown & Brown by 298.5% in the 3rd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in Brown & Brown by 330.4% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Brown & Brown by 65.7% in the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Brown & Brown by 142.3% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Argus assumed coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $98.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $108.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.50.

Insider Activity at Brown & Brown

In related news, Chairman Hyatt J. Brown sold 134,640 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.51, for a total value of $14,071,226.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 17.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

NYSE:BRO opened at $110.05 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.13 and a fifty-two week high of $114.08. The stock has a market cap of $31.47 billion, a PE ratio of 29.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $105.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.09.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 22.65% and a return on equity of 17.12%. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. This is a boost from Brown & Brown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 6th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.35%.

About Brown & Brown

Brown & Brown, Inc markets and sells insurance products and services in the United States, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Retail, National Programs, Wholesale Brokerage, and Services. The Retail segment provides property and casualty, employee benefits insurance products, personal insurance products, specialties insurance products, risk management strategies, loss control survey and analysis, consultancy, and claims processing services.