Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Shares Sold by Harmony Asset Management LLC

Harmony Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 25.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,240 shares during the quarter. Harmony Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $1,009,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BRO. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Brown & Brown during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its position in Brown & Brown by 298.5% during the third quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Brown & Brown during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its position in Brown & Brown by 330.4% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Brown & Brown by 65.7% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BRO opened at $111.59 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.84. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.13 and a 52-week high of $114.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $107.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.07.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 17.12% and a net margin of 22.65%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 6th. This is an increase from Brown & Brown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BRO. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Brown & Brown from $98.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Brown & Brown from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Brown & Brown from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Argus assumed coverage on Brown & Brown in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. One 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.42.

Brown & Brown Company 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.