Pacer Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 37.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 20,693 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $3,482,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Brown & Brown by 44.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $219,000 after acquiring an additional 654 shares in the last quarter. Cathy Pareto & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,302,000. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $306,000. Marshall Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Brown & Brown by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 11,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,191,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the period. Finally, Running Oak Capital LLC lifted its position in Brown & Brown by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 139,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,258,000 after buying an additional 8,688 shares during the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on BRO. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays upped 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Brown & Brown in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $134.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $113.17.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Shares of BRO stock opened at $105.53 on Friday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.79 and a twelve month high of $114.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.85.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.10. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 22.65% and a return on equity of 17.12%. On average, analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 3.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. Brown & Brown’s payout ratio is 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.