Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Shares Bought by Ascent Group LLC

Ascent Group LLC raised its holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 14.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 406 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $319,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BRO. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,611,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $164,383,000 after buying an additional 46,912 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 94,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,599,000 after buying an additional 4,424 shares during the period. Invst LLC grew its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Invst LLC now owns 10,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,058,000 after buying an additional 396 shares during the period. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,252,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 581.8% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE BRO opened at $111.94 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.87. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52-week low of $85.97 and a 52-week high of $125.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $115.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.01). Brown & Brown had a net margin of 20.68% and a return on equity of 17.81%. The company had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Brown & Brown from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $126.00 to $119.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $116.85.

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.