Axa S.A. Sells 57,159 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

AXA S.A. lessened its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 63.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,516 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 57,159 shares during the quarter. AXA S.A.'s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $3,317,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 534.1% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 279 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BRO. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $128.00 price objective on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Bank of America increased their price target on 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 upped their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. 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, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $116.67.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BRO traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $111.42. The company had a trading volume of 922,426 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,468,106. The company's 50 day moving average price is $117.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.86. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52-week low of $85.89 and a 52-week high of $125.68. The stock has a market cap of $31.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

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

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

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

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.