Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Shares Bought by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 379,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,690 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $38,680,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC grew its position in Brown & Brown by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 4,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Brown & Brown by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 2,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its position in Brown & Brown by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 3,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Brown & Brown by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $476,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in Brown & Brown by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 6,157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $638,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BRO opened at $117.12 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.49 billion, a PE ratio of 33.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 1.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $116.13 and a 200-day moving average of $109.48. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a one year low of $80.33 and a one year high of $125.68.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 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, equities analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were issued a $0.15 dividend. 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 payout ratio is 17.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BRO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Bank of America boosted their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $128.00 target price on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $115.25.

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.