Optimize Financial Inc Purchases Shares of 3,221 Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Optimize Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 3,221 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $329,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 122.7% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 294 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Brown & Brown by 130.7% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BRO. Bank of America increased their price target on Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted 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. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $128.00 price objective on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $119.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $117.50.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Shares of BRO stock traded down $1.63 during trading on Friday, hitting $117.17. The company had a trading volume of 1,795,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,434,392. The stock's 50-day moving average is $117.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current 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.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 20.68% and a return on equity of 17.81%. As a group, analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.34%.

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.