Bank of New York Mellon Corp Trims Position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp decreased its position in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,377,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,625 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $140,482,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BRO. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Brown & Brown during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its position in Brown & Brown by 122.7% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Brown & Brown by 130.7% during 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on BRO shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $134.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Brown & Brown from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 2nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $108.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $113.17.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Brown & Brown stock opened at $118.59 on Friday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52-week low of $80.33 and a 52-week high of $118.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.27, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $106.24 and a 200-day moving average of $105.86.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 20.68% and a return on equity of 17.81%. As a group, analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.34%.

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.