Congress Asset Management Co. Lowers Stock Holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Congress Asset Management Co. decreased its position in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,274,884 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 87,125 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. owned approximately 0.45% of Brown & Brown worth $130,064,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BRO. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Brown & Brown in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 298.5% in the 3rd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 267 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Brown & Brown in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 122.7% in 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 last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on BRO shares. 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 on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. One research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $113.17.

Brown & Brown Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:BRO traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $112.25. 1,187,455 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,584,717. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.44, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.86. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52 week low of $80.33 and a 52 week high of $114.15. The firm's 50 day moving average is $104.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.53%. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.