Edgestream Partners L.P. Increases Stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 46.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 31,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,017 shares during the quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $3,231,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in Brown & Brown by 324.3% in the fourth quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 19,285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,967,000 after buying an additional 14,740 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 161,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,104,000 after acquiring an additional 6,805 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,315,654 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $136,302,000 after acquiring an additional 17,934 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $9,832,000. Finally, EULAV Asset Management lifted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 144.8% during the fourth quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 430,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,960,000 after purchasing an additional 254,900 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on BRO. Bank of America raised their price target on Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. 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 report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $108.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Brown & Brown from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.17.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

BRO stock opened at $118.70 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $33.94 billion, a PE ratio of 34.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 12 month low of $80.33 and a 12 month high of $120.61. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $108.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

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

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th were paid a $0.15 dividend. 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 presently 17.34%.

About Brown & Brown

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.