FourThought Financial Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

FourThought Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $223,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 122.7% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 130.7% in 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 in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BRO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. 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 lifted their price objective on shares of 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 began coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $134.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised their target price on Brown & Brown from $108.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brown & Brown has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.17.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

NYSE:BRO opened at $114.76 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.79. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a one year low of $80.33 and a one year high of $115.34. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $105.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.79. The stock has a market cap of $32.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.17, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

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

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.