Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 304,391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,001 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $31,054,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BRO. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in Brown & Brown by 324.3% during the fourth quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 19,285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,967,000 after purchasing an additional 14,740 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 6,805 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the 3rd quarter valued at about $9,832,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,315,654 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $136,302,000 after buying an additional 17,934 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peak Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,037,000. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BRO opened at $108.64 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.74. The stock has a market cap of $31.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.40, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 12 month low of $78.70 and a 12 month high of $114.15.

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, beating 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, analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on BRO. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $134.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com lowered Brown & Brown from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $113.17.

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.