Prudential Financial Inc. Decreases Holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Prudential Financial Inc. trimmed its holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 16.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 124,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 24,487 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $12,736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Brown & Brown by 53.3% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 54,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,620,000 after buying an additional 18,869 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 29,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,045,000 after acquiring an additional 3,101 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 377,450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,745,000 after acquiring an additional 10,679 shares during the period. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd bought a new position in Brown & Brown during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $440,000. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in Brown & Brown by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 29,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,054,000 after purchasing an additional 828 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Shares of BRO stock opened at $123.08 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $112.98 and its 200 day moving average is $108.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $35.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.57, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a twelve month low of $80.33 and a twelve month high of $123.24.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.10. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 20.68% and a return on equity of 17.81%. Research analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is 17.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $128.00 target price on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Bank of America raised their target price on Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Brown & Brown from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Brown & Brown has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.67.

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.