Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Shares Sold by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Wedbush Securities Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 264 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $1,191,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 122.7% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter worth 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BRO. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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 report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $128.00 price objective on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.67.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Brown & Brown stock opened at $115.01 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $115.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.05. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52 week low of $80.33 and a 52 week high of $125.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.24, a PEG 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 (NYSE:BRO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.34%.

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.