Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO Shares Sold by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 97.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 312,208 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $522,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of BRO. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in Brown & Brown by 423.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in Brown & Brown during the 2nd quarter worth $49,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 4,369.2% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE:BRO opened at $65.05 on Friday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 1 year low of $63.29 and a 1 year high of $125.68. The stock has a market cap of $22.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.95.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 17.84%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 35.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 4th were issued a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 4th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BRO. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Brown & Brown in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $82.00 to $78.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $88.00 to $81.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $85.00 to $78.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $81.00 price objective (down from $90.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.33.

About Brown & Brown

Brown & Brown, Inc (NYSE: BRO) is a professional insurance brokerage and risk advisory firm that provides a broad range of property and casualty, employee benefits, personal risk, and specialty insurance products. The company works with commercial, public sector and individual clients to design and place insurance programs, manage claims and loss control, and deliver risk management consulting. Its services also include wholesale brokerage, program administration and other specialty distribution solutions that connect carriers and intermediaries to niche markets.

Brown & Brown operates through a decentralized model of operating units and subsidiaries, enabling local client service with the scale to access national and specialty markets.