DnB Asset Management AS Buys 2,920 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

DnB Asset Management AS raised its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing 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 have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 42.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,109,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $114,979,000 after buying an additional 330,661 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Brown & Brown by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 45,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,701,000 after purchasing an additional 3,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in Brown & Brown by 2.7% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 41,285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,277,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on BRO shares. Morgan Stanley restated 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 cut their price target on Brown & Brown from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.67.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Brown & Brown stock opened at $122.97 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $35.16 billion, a PE ratio of 35.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $113.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.31. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a one year low of $80.33 and a one year high of $123.24.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last issued 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 return on equity of 17.81% and a net margin of 20.68%. As a group, research analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

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

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.