HighTower Advisors LLC Purchases 3,754 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 86,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,754 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $8,804,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Studio Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Brown & Brown by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 6,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $675,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC boosted its position in Brown & Brown by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 4,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Brown & Brown by 3.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Brown & Brown in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $134.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Brown & Brown from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.17.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

NYSE BRO opened at $120.08 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $109.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.70, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86. 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 1-year low of $80.33 and a 1-year high of $121.25.

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

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Brown & Brown’s payout ratio is 17.34%.

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.