Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Increases Holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 4.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,503 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,764 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.'s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $10,636,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BRO. Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 534.1% during 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. raised its position in Brown & Brown by 581.8% in the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown in the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Brown & Brown by 79.5% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 490 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BRO shares. UBS Group increased their price target on Brown & Brown from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Brown & Brown from $121.00 to $111.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded 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. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Brown & Brown from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. 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 note on Thursday, June 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $118.23.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BRO traded down $1.04 on Wednesday, hitting $105.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,188,263 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,896,355. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $111.43. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 1 year low of $92.29 and a 1 year high of $125.68. The company has a market capitalization of $30.16 billion, a PE ratio of 29.29, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 2.52.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $1.41 billion. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 20.84% and a return on equity of 17.77%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio is 16.71%.

Brown & Brown 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.