Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Makes New Investment in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 13,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,401,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its position in Brown & Brown by 1.6% in the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 18,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,950,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its position in Brown & Brown by 23.8% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 5,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $616,000 after buying an additional 1,143 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown in the third quarter worth about $211,000. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 82,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,541,000 after buying an additional 8,940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario grew its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 45.6% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 7,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $827,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Stock Down 7.6 %

Shares of BRO opened at $115.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 1 year low of $80.33 and a 1 year high of $125.68. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $115.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.97.

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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. Brown & Brown’s payout ratio is 17.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BRO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Bank of America raised their price target on Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $128.00 target price on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.