Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Has $31.85 Million Stock Position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 307,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,189 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $31,846,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its position in Brown & Brown by 2.5% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 267,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,390,000 after purchasing an additional 6,613 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. bought a new stake in Brown & Brown in the second quarter valued at about $1,512,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in Brown & Brown by 12.4% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 251,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,855,000 after purchasing an additional 27,879 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 6.0% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $365,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis raised its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 220.5% in the first quarter. Natixis now owns 62,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,430,000 after buying an additional 42,677 shares during the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE BRO traded down $0.40 on Thursday, reaching $111.51. The company had a trading volume of 17,357 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,313,496. The company’s fifty day moving average is $105.16 and its 200-day moving average is $97.59. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 1-year low of $69.13 and a 1-year high of $114.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a current ratio of 1.73.

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

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 6th. This is a boost from Brown & Brown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is 16.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BRO has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Raymond James upped their price objective on Brown & Brown from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays began coverage on Brown & Brown in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $108.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Brown & Brown from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 2nd. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brown & Brown

In other news, Chairman Hyatt J. Brown sold 134,640 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.51, for a total value of $14,071,226.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 17.02% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Profile

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.