Sei Investments Co. Purchases 44,919 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 13.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 374,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 44,919 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $38,250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on BRO shares. 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Brown & Brown in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $134.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $113.17.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Brown & Brown stock opened at $121.02 on Tuesday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 12-month low of $80.33 and a 12-month high of $121.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $111.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.60 billion, a PE ratio of 34.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86.

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

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a 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%.

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.