DnB Asset Management AS Has $4.62 Million Position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

DnB Asset Management AS increased its stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 45,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,920 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $4,619,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BRO. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the third quarter worth $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its position in Brown & Brown by 122.7% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $128.00 price objective on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on 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, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.67.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Brown & Brown stock opened at $122.97 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $113.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.54, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 1.79. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52-week low of $80.33 and a 52-week high of $123.24.

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, 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, equities analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.34%.

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.