Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC Buys Shares of 10,761 Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,761 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,115,000. Brown & Brown makes up 0.9% of Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BRO. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Brown & Brown by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,355,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,482,223,000 after buying an additional 203,105 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 0.7% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,804,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,144,893,000 after acquiring an additional 86,824 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 0.7% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,915,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $405,638,000 after acquiring an additional 28,180 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 24.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,489,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $311,979,000 after acquiring an additional 687,783 shares during the period. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Brown & Brown by 105.1% during the second quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,068,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $184,930,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059,711 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Shares of BRO stock opened at $105.26 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.83. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.30 and a 1-year high of $107.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $103.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $95.00.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 21.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 3.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 6th. This is a positive change from Brown & Brown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BRO. StockNews.com cut Brown & Brown from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Argus initiated coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $98.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Hyatt J. Brown sold 134,640 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.51, for a total value of $14,071,226.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO R. Andrew Watts sold 2,500 shares of Brown & Brown 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,445 shares in the company, valued at $8,872,802.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 value of $14,071,226.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 17.02% of the company’s stock.

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.