Madison Asset Management LLC Purchases 119,856 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Madison Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 6.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,060,954 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 119,856 shares during the period. Brown & Brown comprises 2.9% of Madison Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Madison Asset Management LLC owned 0.72% of Brown & Brown worth $256,383,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in Brown & Brown by 581.8% in the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Brown & Brown by 104.4% in the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 419 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Shares of BRO opened at $103.29 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 2.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $108.77 and a 200-day moving average of $111.51. The company has a market cap of $29.61 billion, a PE ratio of 28.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.82. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a one year low of $95.44 and a one year high of $125.68.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.01). Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 17.77% and a net margin of 20.84%. The company had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BRO shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective 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 began coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $128.00 price objective on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Brown & Brown from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $126.00 to $119.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $127.00 price objective (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $118.23.

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.

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