Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Shares Bought by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 47.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 168,838 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 54,246 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $17,225,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of BRO. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 122.7% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Stock Up 1.6 %

Brown & Brown stock opened at $120.08 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.33 billion, a PE ratio of 34.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $109.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.20. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 12 month low of $80.33 and a 12 month high of $121.25.

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

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BRO. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. Barclays increased their price target on Brown & Brown from $108.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Brown & Brown in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $134.00 price objective for the company. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Brown & Brown presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.17.

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.