Mariner LLC Grows Position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Mariner LLC increased its position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 60,382 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,361 shares during the quarter. Mariner LLC's holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $6,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BRO. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 4.7% in 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 during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,901,968 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,316,259,000 after buying an additional 94,121 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,099,649 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $620,737,000 after buying an additional 118,569 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Brown & Brown by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,803,616 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $388,045,000 after purchasing an additional 388,411 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter worth about $313,412,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Brown & Brown stock traded up $0.83 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $118.39. The stock had a trading volume of 1,933,145 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,437,933. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52-week low of $80.87 and a 52-week high of $125.68. The company has a market capitalization of $33.85 billion, a PE ratio of 34.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.75. The firm's fifty day moving average is $117.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.25.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on BRO. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Brown & Brown has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.