Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. Purchases 68,577 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 746,032 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 68,577 shares during the quarter. Brown & Brown makes up 2.9% of Tandem Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. owned about 0.26% of Brown & Brown worth $76,110,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BRO. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Brown & Brown during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 122.7% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 294 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brown & Brown Stock Up 1.4 %

BRO traded up $1.58 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $114.18. 568,027 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,556,750. The company has a market cap of $32.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a one year low of $80.33 and a one year high of $114.52. The company's fifty day moving average price is $105.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 1.79.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 return on equity of 17.81% and a net margin of 20.68%. As a group, analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on BRO. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $134.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Brown & Brown from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, November 2nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Brown & Brown from $108.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $113.17.

Brown & Brown 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.