KBC Group NV Sells 3,234 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

KBC Group NV reduced its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,994 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,234 shares during the period. KBC Group NV's holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $3,876,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Brown & Brown by 298.5% during the third quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 267 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Brown & Brown in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Brown & Brown by 130.7% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the third quarter worth approximately $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Brown & Brown Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of BRO opened at $104.65 on Friday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.79 and a fifty-two week high of $114.15. The business has a 50-day moving average of $105.25 and a 200 day moving average of $104.17. The firm has a market cap of $29.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a current ratio of 1.79.

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 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.15 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. Brown & Brown's payout ratio is currently 17.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BRO. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $108.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com cut shares of Brown & Brown from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, November 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities 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, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $113.17.

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.

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