Retirement Systems of Alabama Purchases 255,614 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 417.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 316,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 255,614 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $21,110,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Brown & Brown during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,418,571,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in Brown & Brown in the second quarter worth approximately $266,941,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Brown & Brown by 45.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,128,417 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Brown & Brown by 5.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 173,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 worth $157,553,000 after purchasing an additional 180,593 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BRO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Brown & Brown from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Citizens Jmp decreased their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $78.00 to $75.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 12th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Monday, October 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $69.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.47.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

BRO opened at $71.35 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $66.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.52. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.81 and a 12-month high of $82.57.

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

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 4th were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 4th. This is a positive change from Brown & Brown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.1650. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is 22.78%.

Brown & Brown 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.