MJP Associates Inc. ADV Takes $542,000 Position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

MJP Associates Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 5,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $542,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BRO. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $313,412,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 626.6% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,350,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $239,751,000 after purchasing an additional 2,026,589 shares during the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $198,031,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Brown & Brown by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,940,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,054,493,000 after buying an additional 1,335,964 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Brown & Brown by 11,337.8% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,108,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,109,000 after buying an additional 1,099,199 shares during the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of BRO stock opened at $111.42 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $117.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $31.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.20, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.87. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.97 and a twelve month high of $125.68.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 20.68% and a return on equity of 17.81%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BRO shares. Edward Jones started coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $119.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $128.00 target price on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Brown & Brown presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.67.

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.