Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Lowers Holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc cut its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 4.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 95,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,537 shares during the quarter. Brown & Brown makes up approximately 0.9% of Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $9,883,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 330.4% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 298.5% in the 3rd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Brown & Brown by 142.3% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 65.7% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brown & Brown Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of BRO opened at $107.59 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $104.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $96.46. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 12-month low of $69.13 and a 12-month high of $107.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $30.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.82.

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

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is a positive change from Brown & Brown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 6th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO R. Andrew Watts sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.32, for a total transaction of $250,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 88,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,872,802.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO R. Andrew Watts sold 2,500 shares of Brown & Brown stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.32, for a total value of $250,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 88,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,872,802.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $14,071,226.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 16.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on BRO. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Brown & Brown from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays assumed coverage on Brown & Brown in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $108.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $98.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.50.

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.