Blue Trust Inc. Buys 654 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 44.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 654 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $219,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Brown & Brown during the third quarter worth about $26,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its position in Brown & Brown by 298.5% in the 3rd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Brown & Brown in the third quarter worth $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of 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. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the third quarter valued at about $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE BRO opened at $105.62 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 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 1.73. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.12 and a 1 year high of $114.15. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $105.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.40.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 17.81% and a net margin of 20.68%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Brown & Brown’s payout ratio is currently 17.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BRO shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays raised their price target on Brown & Brown from $108.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued 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 $113.17.

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.