Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Shares Sold by Man Group plc

Man Group plc lessened its stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 22.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 122,941 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 34,641 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc's holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $12,542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BRO. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,940,139 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,054,493,000 after acquiring an additional 1,335,964 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Brown & Brown by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,901,968 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,316,259,000 after purchasing an additional 94,121 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,099,649 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $620,737,000 after buying an additional 118,569 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,195,681 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $428,043,000 after buying an additional 566,116 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,803,616 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $388,045,000 after buying an additional 388,411 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:BRO traded down $1.52 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $110.93. 2,345,070 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,482,134. The firm has a market cap of $31.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.06, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.87. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52-week low of $85.97 and a 52-week high of $125.68. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $116.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.15. 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 posted 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). The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 17.81% and a net margin of 20.68%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BRO shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Brown & Brown from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $126.00 to $119.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group increased their target price on Brown & Brown from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on 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, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $116.85.

About Brown & Brown

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.