Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys New Position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 704,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $71,915,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.25% of Brown & Brown at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Studio Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 6,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $675,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC raised its position in Brown & Brown by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 4,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in Brown & Brown by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 2,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its position in Brown & Brown by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 3,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its position in Brown & Brown by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 22,929 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,375,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on BRO. Barclays increased their price target on Brown & Brown from $108.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Brown & Brown from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America raised their target price on Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Brown & Brown presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $113.17.

Brown & Brown Trading Down 0.0 %

BRO opened at $118.70 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $33.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52 week low of $80.33 and a 52 week high of $120.61. The business’s 50 day moving average is $108.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $106.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.10. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 17.81% and a net margin of 20.68%. On average, research analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.34%.

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.