KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New $8.27 Million Investment in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 81,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,274,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC boosted its position in Brown & Brown by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 4,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $458,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 2,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 3,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Brown & Brown by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 2,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Shares of Brown & Brown stock opened at $121.02 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.98, a PEG 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 $121.30. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $111.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.82.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, equities analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BRO shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $134.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Brown & Brown from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.17.

Brown & Brown 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.