Comerica Bank Grows Stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Comerica Bank grew its position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 81,449 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,330 shares during the period. Comerica Bank's holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $8,309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in BRO. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Brown & Brown by 534.1% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 279 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted 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 period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BRO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Brown & Brown from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $119.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $116.67.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Brown & Brown stock traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $111.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 333,310 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,463,427. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $117.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $110.78. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52 week low of $84.53 and a 52 week high of $125.68. 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 stock has a market cap of $31.87 billion, a PE ratio of 32.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.87.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.01). Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 17.81% and a net margin of 20.68%. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.