Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Increases Stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 125.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 628,690 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 350,236 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.22% of Brown & Brown worth $78,209,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BRO. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its position in Brown & Brown by 2.3% during the first quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,312 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $536,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 3.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 4,690 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $479,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 20,379 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,079,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Brown & Brown by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,265 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Shares of BRO traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $107.26. 3,393,816 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,619,976. The stock has a market cap of $30.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.84. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 1-year low of $88.31 and a 1-year high of $125.68. The company has a 50 day moving average of $112.49 and a 200-day moving average of $111.12. 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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.01). Brown & Brown had a net margin of 20.68% and a return on equity of 17.81%. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. Brown & Brown's revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BRO. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $128.00 price objective on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Brown & Brown from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $126.00 to $119.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $118.85.

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.