Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Shares Bought by Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 395.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 34,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,297 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $3,489,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter worth approximately $313,412,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $198,031,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,940,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,054,493,000 after buying an additional 1,335,964 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 11,337.8% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,108,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,109,000 after buying an additional 1,099,199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter valued at $71,915,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective 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. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $128.00 price objective on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.67.

Brown & Brown Stock Down 0.4 %

BRO opened at $112.24 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $115.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $109.23. 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 cap of $32.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.75. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 12 month low of $80.33 and a 12 month high of $125.68.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 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%. As a group, research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.