Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Sells 4,386 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC lowered its stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 19.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 17,951 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,386 shares during the period. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $1,831,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 122.7% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 130.7% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of BRO opened at $124.09 on Wednesday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $80.33 and a fifty-two week high of $125.68. The firm has a market cap of $35.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.86, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $113.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.52. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $128.00 target price on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.67.

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.