5,065 Shares in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Bought by GF Fund Management CO. LTD.

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 5,065 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $630,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Brown & Brown by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,940,139 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,054,493,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335,964 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,940,046 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,609,742,000 after buying an additional 38,078 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,195,681 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $428,043,000 after buying an additional 566,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,803,616 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $388,045,000 after buying an additional 388,411 shares during the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE BRO traded down $0.96 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $107.74. 3,500,827 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,856,317. The company has a market capitalization of $30.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52-week low of $89.92 and a 52-week high of $125.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $109.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $111.33.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.41 billion. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 20.84% and a return on equity of 17.77%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted 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. Edward Jones started coverage on Brown & Brown in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Brown & Brown from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $128.00 price objective on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $122.00 price objective (up previously from $116.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $118.08.

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.