Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Cuts Position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 407,411 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,963 shares during the period. Brown & Brown accounts for 1.9% of Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of Brown & Brown worth $41,564,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Brown & Brown in the third quarter worth $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Brown & Brown in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its position in 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America increased their target price on Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Brown & Brown from $108.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $134.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $113.17.

Brown & Brown Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:BRO opened at $119.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $106.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $106.20. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a one year low of $80.33 and a one year high of $120.61.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.10. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 17.81% and a net margin of 20.68%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Brown & Brown's payout ratio is currently 17.34%.

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.

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