Aviva PLC Sells 1,048 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Aviva PLC trimmed its stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 53,096 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,048 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $5,417,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Brown & Brown Trading Up 3.6 %

NYSE BRO opened at $116.48 on Thursday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $80.33 and a fifty-two week high of $125.68. 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 50 day simple moving average of $115.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.38. The stock has a market cap of $33.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.75.

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

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The business 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 yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BRO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Brown & Brown from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $128.00 price objective on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective 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 upped their price objective on Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.