Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Stock Holdings Lessened by Whittier Trust Co.

Whittier Trust Co. lowered its holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 7.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 173,514 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 13,324 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. owned about 0.06% of Brown & Brown worth $21,585,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter worth $313,412,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 626.6% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,350,039 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $239,751,000 after buying an additional 2,026,589 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,335,964 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Brown & Brown by 13,974.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,112,758 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $138,427,000 after acquiring an additional 1,104,852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 172.5% in the first quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 1,314,434 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $163,516,000 after acquiring an additional 832,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on BRO. Edward Jones started coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $128.00 price target on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Brown & Brown from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $126.00 to $119.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Brown & Brown from $121.00 to $111.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $118.23.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

BRO stock traded down $1.74 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $106.24. The company had a trading volume of 2,251,416 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,992,902. The business has a 50 day moving average of $109.61 and a 200 day moving average of $111.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 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 fifty-two week low of $92.29 and a fifty-two week high of $125.68.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.01). Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 17.77% and a net margin of 20.84%. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. Brown & Brown's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. 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 payout ratio is 16.71%.

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.