Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Stock Position Lowered by Osterweis Capital Management Inc.

Osterweis Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 17.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 308,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 66,089 shares during the quarter. Brown & Brown accounts for 1.5% of Osterweis Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Osterweis Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $31,512,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farringdon Capital Ltd. acquired a new position in Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter valued at $508,000. MSH Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter valued at about $259,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 977.3% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 43,492 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,437,000 after purchasing an additional 39,455 shares in the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management boosted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 28.6% during the fourth quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 16,997 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,734,000 after purchasing an additional 3,780 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Brown & Brown by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 18,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,849,000 after purchasing an additional 2,043 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

NYSE BRO opened at $118.89 on Thursday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 1 year low of $80.33 and a 1 year high of $125.68. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $109.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $33.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.75.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BRO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Edward Jones began coverage on Brown & Brown in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Brown & Brown from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Brown & Brown from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.50.

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.