Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Raises Position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 395.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,197 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 27,297 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership's holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $3,489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Brown & Brown by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,940,139 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,054,493,000 after acquiring an additional 1,335,964 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter valued at about $313,412,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,466,582 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $255,537,000 after acquiring an additional 371,980 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter valued at about $198,031,000. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Trading Up 1.8 %

BRO traded up $2.09 during trading on Monday, hitting $120.95. 91,679 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,424,601. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.75. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 12-month low of $80.33 and a 12-month high of $125.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $116.39 and a 200 day moving average of $109.63.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. Brown & Brown's payout ratio is currently 17.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BRO has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $128.00 price objective on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Brown & Brown from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One equities 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 MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $115.83.

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.