Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Stake Decreased by Fenimore Asset Management Inc

Fenimore Asset Management Inc lessened its position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,298,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 26,368 shares during the quarter. Brown & Brown makes up about 4.9% of Fenimore Asset Management Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Fenimore Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $234,494,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BRO. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 14.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 16,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,476,000 after purchasing an additional 2,123 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in Brown & Brown by 8.0% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 40,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,593,000 after buying an additional 2,990 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the second quarter valued at approximately $117,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its holdings in Brown & Brown by 61.1% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 46,524 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,160,000 after acquiring an additional 17,642 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new position in Brown & Brown in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,329,000. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Brown & Brown in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $134.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Brown & Brown from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.08.

Brown & Brown Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE BRO opened at $106.01 on Friday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.79 and a 52 week high of $114.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a fifty day moving average of $105.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $103.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.88, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.85.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.03. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 17.12% and a net margin of 22.65%. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. Brown & Brown’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.35%.

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.