Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Increases Stock Holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 42.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 323,882 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 97,054 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $33,042,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its position in Brown & Brown by 122.7% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 71.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased 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 note on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $128.00 price target on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.67.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

BRO stock opened at $122.97 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.31. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $80.33 and a 12-month high of $123.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.16 billion, a PE ratio of 35.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.10. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 17.81% and a net margin of 20.68%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.