J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Makes New $216,000 Investment in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 2,085 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BRO. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 5.2% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $892,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 0.5% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 25,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,243,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 14.1% in the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 4,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC grew its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 71.2% in the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 6,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 2,584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the first quarter valued at about $586,000. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brown & Brown Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of BRO opened at $104.17 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $29.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 12 month low of $69.13 and a 12 month high of $107.67. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $104.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.73.

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

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is a positive change from Brown & Brown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BRO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price target on Brown & Brown from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Argus began coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $98.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.50.

Insider Transactions at Brown & Brown

In other news, Chairman Hyatt J. Brown sold 134,640 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.51, for a total transaction of $14,071,226.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO R. Andrew Watts sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.32, for a total transaction of $250,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 88,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,872,802.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Hyatt J. Brown sold 134,640 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.51, for a total transaction of $14,071,226.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.