Capital World Investors Grows Position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 15.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,195,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 566,116 shares during the period. Capital World Investors owned 1.47% of Brown & Brown worth $428,043,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BRO. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its stake in Brown & Brown by 122.7% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 130.7% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BRO. Edward Jones began coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group lifted 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Brown & Brown from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.50.

Brown & Brown Trading Down 1.4 %

BRO stock opened at $117.17 on Friday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 12 month low of $80.87 and a 12 month high of $125.68. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $117.44 and its 200 day moving average is $110.10. The company has a market capitalization of $33.50 billion, a PE ratio of 33.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

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