Stephens Inc. AR Reduces Position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Stephens Inc. AR trimmed its position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 25,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 597 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $2,559,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRO. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 0.7% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,915,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $405,638,000 after acquiring an additional 28,180 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Brown & Brown by 17.8% in 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 period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 1.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,315,654 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $136,302,000 after acquiring an additional 17,934 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Brown & Brown by 42.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,109,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $114,979,000 after purchasing an additional 330,661 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 779,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $80,749,000 after purchasing an additional 45,766 shares during the period. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

BRO opened at $108.78 on Wednesday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 1 year low of $80.33 and a 1 year high of $114.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $104.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.89. The firm has a market cap of $31.11 billion, a PE ratio of 31.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 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 1.73.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is 17.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BRO shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Brown & Brown from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Bank of America raised their target price on Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays upped their price target on Brown & Brown from $108.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brown & Brown 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.