Capital World Investors Increases Position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 15.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,195,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 566,116 shares during the quarter. Capital World Investors’ holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $428,043,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRO. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Brown & Brown by 130.7% in 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. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $128.00 price objective on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Edward Jones initiated coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Brown & Brown from $119.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.50.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

NYSE:BRO opened at $117.17 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $117.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $110.10. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 1-year low of $80.87 and a 1-year high of $125.68. The firm has a market cap of $33.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

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

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.34%.

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.