Squarepoint Ops LLC Boosts Stock Position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 671.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 49,153 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 42,779 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $5,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Twinbeech Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 73.8% in the fourth quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP now owns 104,667 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,678,000 after buying an additional 44,437 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter worth about $4,254,000. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its position in Brown & Brown by 564.9% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 137,664 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,044,000 after acquiring an additional 116,959 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming raised its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 964 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 11,969 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,328,000 after purchasing an additional 628 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on BRO. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Brown & Brown from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Brown & Brown from $138.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Brown & Brown from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $126.00 to $119.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $116.85.

Brown & Brown Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of Brown & Brown stock traded down $1.23 on Wednesday, hitting $110.85. 1,268,583 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,484,791. The company has a fifty day moving average of $115.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $111.21. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a one year low of $85.97 and a one year high of $125.68. The company has a market capitalization of $31.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

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). The company had revenue of $1.40 billion during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Brown & Brown's payout ratio is 16.71%.

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.