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

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 395.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 34,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 27,297 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $3,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 324.3% during the fourth quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 19,285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,967,000 after purchasing an additional 14,740 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 4.4% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 161,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,104,000 after buying an additional 6,805 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,356,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $138,394,000 after buying an additional 40,881 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 304,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,055,000 after acquiring an additional 50,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 47.3% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 168,838 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,225,000 after acquiring an additional 54,246 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Shares of BRO opened at $112.24 on Wednesday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 12 month low of $80.33 and a 12 month high of $125.68. The company’s fifty day moving average is $115.44 and its 200-day moving average is $109.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market cap of $32.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.75.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.10. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 17.81% and a net margin of 20.68%. Equities analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. Brown & Brown’s payout ratio is 17.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on BRO shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley reissued 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 decreased their price objective on Brown & Brown from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Brown & Brown presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.67.

Brown & Brown 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.