Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 20,693 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Pacer Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 37.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 20,693 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $3,482,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its position in Brown & Brown by 298.5% in the 3rd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 130.7% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the 3rd quarter worth $58,000. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on BRO. Barclays upped their price objective on Brown & Brown from $108.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $98.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Brown & Brown has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $113.17.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

NYSE:BRO opened at $105.53 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $30.18 billion, a PE ratio of 28.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $105.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $104.09. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.79 and a 52 week high of $114.15.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.10. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 17.12% and a net margin of 22.65%. As a group, analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 3.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Brown & Brown’s payout ratio is 16.35%.

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.