Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Holdings Lifted by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 29,940,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,335,964 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Brown & Brown worth $3,054,493,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its position in Brown & Brown by 122.7% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. 71.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BRO opened at $121.44 on Wednesday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 12 month low of $80.33 and a 12 month high of $121.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $34.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86. The business’s 50 day moving average is $111.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.82.

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

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BRO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Brown & Brown from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $128.00 price target on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America boosted their price target on Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.67.

Brown & Brown Company Profile

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.