Blueshift Asset Management LLC Takes $230,000 Position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

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

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BRO. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter worth $198,031,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted 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 valued at $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,099,199 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter valued at about $71,915,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI raised its position in Brown & Brown by 258.0% during the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 646,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,985,000 after acquiring an additional 465,988 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in Brown & Brown by 17.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,466,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $255,537,000 after acquiring an additional 371,980 shares during the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brown & Brown Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of BRO stock opened at $118.38 on Friday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 1 year low of $80.33 and a 1 year high of $121.25. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $111.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

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

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BRO. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price 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. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $134.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Finally, 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 research note on Wednesday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.17.

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.