Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Shares Sold by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 54.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 137,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 166,400 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $13,977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 122.7% during the 4th 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 during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 130.7% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brown & Brown Stock Up 1.8 %

BRO stock opened at $120.98 on Tuesday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a one year low of $80.33 and a one year high of $125.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.97, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $116.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $109.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 1.79.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.10. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 17.81% and a net margin of 20.68%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BRO has been the topic of a number of research reports. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Brown & Brown from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $128.00 target price on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $119.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $115.83.

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.