Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Shares Bought by Silphium Asset Management Ltd

Silphium Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 27.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,776 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,530 shares during the period. Brown & Brown makes up about 1.6% of Silphium Asset Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Silphium Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $4,976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 324.3% in the 4th quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 19,285 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,967,000 after acquiring an additional 14,740 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 4.4% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 161,569 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $18,104,000 after purchasing an additional 6,805 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 1.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,315,654 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $136,302,000 after purchasing an additional 17,934 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the 3rd quarter worth about $9,832,000. Finally, EULAV Asset Management lifted its stake in Brown & Brown by 144.8% in the 4th quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 430,900 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,960,000 after buying an additional 254,900 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Brown & Brown Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Brown & Brown stock traded up $1.43 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $119.97. The stock had a trading volume of 2,204,305 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,602,700. The firm has a market cap of $34.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $106.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $106.07. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 12-month low of $80.33 and a 12-month high of $120.39.

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, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. Brown & Brown's payout ratio is 17.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on BRO. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Brown & Brown from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays boosted their price target on Brown & Brown from $108.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $134.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. One 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $113.17.

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.