Fifth Third Bancorp Purchases 751,432 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 1,232.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 812,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 751,432 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $54,797,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,418,571,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the second quarter worth $266,941,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 45.2% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,623,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $236,268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128,417 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 5.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,569,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $232,786,000 after purchasing an additional 173,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,587,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $157,553,000 after purchasing an additional 180,593 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Stock Down 1.1%

NYSE:BRO opened at $70.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $66.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.52. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 1-year low of $53.81 and a 1-year high of $82.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.34, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.52.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.01). Brown & Brown had a net margin of 17.63% and a return on equity of 13.29%. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 4th. This is an increase from Brown & Brown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.1650. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BRO shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Brown & Brown from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Brown & Brown from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $77.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Weiss Ratings raised Brown & Brown from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. TD Cowen started coverage on Brown & Brown in a research note on Monday, October 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Brown & Brown from $73.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brown & Brown presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.47.

Brown & Brown Company Profile

Brown & Brown, Inc. is an insurance brokerage and risk management company that helps businesses, public entities and individuals assess and manage risk. Its services include arranging property and casualty insurance, employee benefits and personal insurance, as well as providing risk management and related services. The company serves clients through retail insurance operations, national insurance programs, wholesale brokerage and insurance-related services. It operates primarily in the United States and also serves clients in international markets.