Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Boosts Stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 77.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 324,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 141,700 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $33,079,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BRO. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,940,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,054,493,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335,964 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,901,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,316,259,000 after buying an additional 94,121 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 371,980 shares during the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter valued at $198,031,000. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Brown & Brown by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,768,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $180,378,000 after acquiring an additional 50,885 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Shares of BRO opened at $121.75 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $112.28 and a 200-day moving average of $107.94. The company has a market cap of $34.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.19, 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 quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 1.79. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 1 year low of $80.33 and a 1 year high of $122.61.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share 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, equities analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BRO. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $128.00 target price on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Tuesday. 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, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Brown & Brown from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.67.

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.