First Trust Advisors LP Acquires 2,026,589 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 626.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,350,039 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,026,589 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.82% of Brown & Brown worth $239,751,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 181,287 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,482,000 after buying an additional 8,317 shares during the period. Farringdon Capital Ltd. bought a new stake in Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $508,000. MSH Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $259,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 977.3% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 43,492 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,437,000 after purchasing an additional 39,455 shares during the period. Finally, Zacks Investment Management increased its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 28.6% during the fourth quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 16,997 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,734,000 after buying an additional 3,780 shares during the period. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Brown & Brown stock traded up $0.83 on Wednesday, hitting $118.39. The company had a trading volume of 1,933,145 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,437,933. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 1 year low of $80.87 and a 1 year high of $125.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 1.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $117.66 and a 200-day moving average of $110.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.75.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped 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, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Edward Jones started coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Brown & Brown has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $117.50.

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.