Blueshift Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BRO. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,901,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,316,259,000 after purchasing an additional 94,121 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 371,980 shares in the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter worth approximately $198,031,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,768,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $180,378,000 after purchasing an additional 50,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,356,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $138,394,000 after acquiring an additional 40,881 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BRO shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Brown & Brown from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Brown & Brown in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $134.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $113.17.

Brown & Brown Trading Down 1.2 %

BRO stock opened at $118.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 1.79. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $111.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.69. The firm has a market cap of $33.85 billion, a PE ratio of 34.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $80.33 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were issued 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 (DPR) is currently 17.34%.

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.