Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $33.04 Million Position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 42.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 323,882 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 97,054 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.11% of Brown & Brown worth $33,042,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 324.3% during the 4th quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 19,285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,967,000 after buying an additional 14,740 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 4.4% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 161,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,104,000 after purchasing an additional 6,805 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,356,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $138,394,000 after purchasing an additional 40,881 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 304,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,055,000 after buying an additional 50,510 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in Brown & Brown by 47.3% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 168,838 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,225,000 after buying an additional 54,246 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on BRO. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $128.00 price objective on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Bank of America upped their price target on Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. One 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.com, Brown & Brown currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.67.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

NYSE:BRO opened at $122.97 on Monday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52-week low of $80.33 and a 52-week high of $123.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 1.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $113.33 and a 200 day moving average of $108.31.

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

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

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

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.