Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Stock Holdings Increased by SlateStone Wealth LLC

SlateStone Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,750 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $1,607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BRO. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter worth approximately $198,031,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 11,337.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,099,199 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter worth approximately $71,915,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 258.0% in the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 646,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,985,000 after acquiring an additional 465,988 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 17.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,466,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $255,537,000 after acquiring an additional 371,980 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

BRO stock opened at $118.21 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $33.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.85. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 12 month low of $80.33 and a 12 month high of $121.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $109.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.18.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last posted its 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 net margin of 20.68% and a return on equity of 17.81%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. Brown & Brown’s payout ratio is 17.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BRO. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $108.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $134.00 target price on the stock. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.17.

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.