Sepio Capital LP Trims Stock Holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Sepio Capital LP lessened its position in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 16,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 503 shares during the quarter. Sepio Capital LP’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $1,647,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its stake in Brown & Brown by 122.7% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 130.7% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

NYSE:BRO opened at $115.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 1.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.89 billion, a PE ratio of 33.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $80.33 and a fifty-two week high of $125.68. The company has a fifty day moving average of $115.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.97.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on BRO. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $128.00 price target on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price 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. 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 research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Brown & Brown has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.67.

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.