Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,410,115 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 41,263 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.84% of Brown & Brown worth $245,880,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on BRO. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $128.00 price target on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Brown & Brown from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays raised their target price on Brown & Brown from $119.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $116.83.

Brown & Brown Trading Up 1.4 %

Brown & Brown stock traded up $1.58 during trading on Friday, hitting $110.60. The company had a trading volume of 1,616,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,461,844. The stock has a market cap of $31.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.75. 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 1-year low of $81.79 and a 1-year high of $125.68. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $117.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.66.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.01). Brown & Brown had a net margin of 20.68% and a return on equity of 17.81%. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. Brown & Brown's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. 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.