Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Stock Position Cut by Plato Investment Management Ltd

Plato Investment Management Ltd lessened its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 14.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,971 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 981 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Studio Investment Management LLC grew its position in Brown & Brown by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 6,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $675,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC grew its position in Brown & Brown by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 4,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $458,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 2,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 3,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 22,929 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,375,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Shares of BRO opened at $119.30 on Wednesday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a one year low of $80.33 and a one year high of $120.61. The company has a 50-day moving average of $106.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $106.20. The stock has a market cap of $34.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.48, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (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, equities research analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $108.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $134.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America raised their price objective 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Brown & Brown has a consensus 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.