9,075 Shares in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO Acquired by Machina Capital S.A.S.

Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 9,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $851,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 423.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Brown & Brown in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Motco purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in Brown & Brown during the second quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the 2nd quarter worth about $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of NYSE BRO opened at $74.03 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $78.83 and its 200 day moving average is $86.61. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52 week low of $70.45 and a 52 week high of $125.68. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $25.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.13, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.79.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 17.84% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The company’s revenue was up 35.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 4th will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 4th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BRO. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Brown & Brown from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $91.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $84.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Citigroup cut shares of Brown & Brown from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.64.

Brown & Brown Profile

Brown & Brown, Inc (NYSE: BRO) is a professional insurance brokerage and risk advisory firm that provides a broad range of property and casualty, employee benefits, personal risk, and specialty insurance products. The company works with commercial, public sector and individual clients to design and place insurance programs, manage claims and loss control, and deliver risk management consulting. Its services also include wholesale brokerage, program administration and other specialty distribution solutions that connect carriers and intermediaries to niche markets.

Brown & Brown operates through a decentralized model of operating units and subsidiaries, enabling local client service with the scale to access national and specialty markets.