Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Has $7.25 Million Stock Position in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 78.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 111,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,782 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $7,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BRO. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 38.3% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 33,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,132,000 after buying an additional 9,264 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in Brown & Brown by 5.2% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 11,149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,387,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Brown & Brown by 1,824.7% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 53,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,888,000 after acquiring an additional 50,344 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Brown & Brown by 27.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 60.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the period. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director H Palmer Proctor, Jr. purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $57.10 per share, for a total transaction of $114,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 47,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,719,159.10. The trade was a 4.38% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 13.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Brown & Brown Stock Down 1.3%

NYSE BRO opened at $58.35 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $60.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.88. The company has a market capitalization of $19.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.76, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.63. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 1-year low of $53.81 and a 1-year high of $111.10.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.03. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 17.94%.The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.29 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Brown & Brown’s payout ratio is currently 21.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BRO shares. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Brown & Brown from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 13th. Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on Brown & Brown in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. They issued a “market outperform” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. UBS Group reduced their target price on Brown & Brown from $81.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. They set a “market outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brown & Brown presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.44.

About Brown & Brown

Brown & Brown, Inc (NYSE: BRO) is a professional insurance brokerage and risk advisory firm that provides a broad range of property and casualty, employee benefits, personal risk, and specialty insurance products. The company works with commercial, public sector and individual clients to design and place insurance programs, manage claims and loss control, and deliver risk management consulting. Its services also include wholesale brokerage, program administration and other specialty distribution solutions that connect carriers and intermediaries to niche markets.

Brown & Brown operates through a decentralized model of operating units and subsidiaries, enabling local client service with the scale to access national and specialty markets.