Cathy Pareto & Associates Inc. Buys New Shares in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Cathy Pareto & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 12,761 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,302,000. Brown & Brown comprises about 1.2% of Cathy Pareto & Associates Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 16,508 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,476,000 after buying an additional 2,123 shares in the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new position in Brown & Brown in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,329,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 85.7% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 69,812 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,242,000 after buying an additional 32,226 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Brown & Brown in the second quarter valued at $210,000. Finally, Ascent Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the 2nd quarter worth about $233,000. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

NYSE BRO traded up $1.93 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $107.93. 2,275,398 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,644,268. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.73. The firm's 50-day moving average is $105.72 and its 200-day moving average is $104.00. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.79 and a 52-week high of $114.15. The company has a market capitalization of $30.86 billion, a PE ratio of 29.41, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.85.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.10. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 17.12% and a net margin of 22.65%. Equities analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 3.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Brown & Brown from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, November 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Brown & Brown from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Brown & Brown from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $98.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $112.08.

Brown & Brown Company 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.