DnB Asset Management AS Increases Stock Holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

DnB Asset Management AS increased its stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 45,279 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,920 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS's holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $4,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,940,139 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,054,493,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335,964 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,901,968 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,316,259,000 after acquiring an additional 94,121 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter worth approximately $313,412,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings 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 during the period. Finally, Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter valued at $198,031,000. 71.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on BRO. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $128.00 price objective on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Bank of America lifted 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Brown & Brown from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.67.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

NYSE:BRO traded up $1.22 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $125.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 997,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,394,933. The company has a market capitalization of $35.87 billion, a PE ratio of 36.19, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52-week low of $80.33 and a 52-week high of $125.68. The business's 50-day moving average is $114.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 1.79.

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 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, research analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Brown & Brown's payout ratio is 17.34%.

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.