Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG Makes New $907,000 Investment in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 8,890 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $907,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI grew its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 258.0% during the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 646,574 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $66,985,000 after buying an additional 465,988 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Brown & Brown by 17.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,466,582 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $255,537,000 after purchasing an additional 371,980 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 330,661 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Brown & Brown by 129.3% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 547,003 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $56,670,000 after purchasing an additional 308,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EULAV Asset Management boosted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 144.8% during the fourth quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 430,900 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $43,960,000 after purchasing an additional 254,900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Shares of BRO stock traded up $0.78 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $112.25. 1,187,455 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,585,086. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $104.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.31. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a twelve month low of $80.33 and a twelve month high of $114.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.09 billion, a PE ratio of 32.44, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.86.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.17 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. Brown & Brown's payout ratio is 17.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BRO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Bank of America increased their target price on Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Brown & Brown from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, November 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $134.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $113.17.

Brown & Brown 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.