Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys New Stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 704,908 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $71,915,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.25% of Brown & Brown at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Brown & Brown during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its holdings in Brown & Brown by 122.7% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 294 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 71.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

BRO traded up $0.60 during trading on Thursday, reaching $117.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,895,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,280,505. The company has a market cap of $33.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.07, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.96. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 1 year low of $80.33 and a 1 year high of $121.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Remove Ads

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

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on BRO shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target 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. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Brown & Brown in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $134.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $108.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Brown & Brown presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.