Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Shares Acquired by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 43,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,772 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $4,468,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRO. Studio Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 1.5% in the third quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 6,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $675,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $458,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Brown & Brown by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 2,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 3,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 2.5% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Brown & Brown stock opened at $119.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.79. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 12 month low of $80.33 and a 12 month high of $121.25. The company has a market cap of $34.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $111.23 and its 200-day moving average is $107.58.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 20.68% and a return on equity of 17.81%. Equities analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 was Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BRO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Brown & Brown from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Brown & Brown from $108.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average 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.