Millennium Management LLC Grows Stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 627,813 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 53,080 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned about 0.22% of Brown & Brown worth $64,049,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BRO. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its stake in Brown & Brown by 122.7% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 294 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BRO traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $112.35. The stock had a trading volume of 594,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,475,309. The firm has a market cap of $32.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.45, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $116.05 and a 200-day moving average of $111.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.97 and a fifty-two week high of $125.68.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last posted 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). Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 17.81% and a net margin of 20.68%. The company had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Edward Jones initiated coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $116.85.

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.