First Merchants Corp Grows Stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

First Merchants Corp raised its position in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 1.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,614 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $11,434,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC lifted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its stake in Brown & Brown by 2.3% in the first quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,312 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $536,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 11.7% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $125,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its position in Brown & Brown by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 4,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $479,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in Brown & Brown by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 20,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,079,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Stock Up 1.0%

BRO stock opened at $109.51 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.40 billion, a PE ratio of 30.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.84. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52 week low of $88.31 and a 52 week high of $125.68. The company has a quick ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $110.83 and a 200 day moving average of $110.95.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 17.77% and a net margin of 20.84%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Brown & Brown’s payout ratio is presently 16.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Brown & Brown from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $127.00 target price (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $138.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brown & Brown currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $118.85.

About Brown & Brown

Brown & Brown, Inc is an insurance agency, wholesale brokerage, insurance program and service organization. It engages in the provision of insurance brokerage services and casualty insurance underwriting services. It operates through the following segments: Retail, National Programs, Wholesale Brokerage, and Services.