Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Takes Position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 4,801 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $490,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRO. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 534.1% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 279 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its holdings in Brown & Brown by 122.7% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 294 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BRO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays boosted their price target on Brown & Brown from $119.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Brown & Brown from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $128.00 price target on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $116.67.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BRO traded down $0.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $111.42. 922,426 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,468,106. The company has a market capitalization of $31.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.87. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $117.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.86. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 1-year low of $85.89 and a 1-year high of $125.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 1.79.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 20.68% and a return on equity of 17.81%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.71%.

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.