Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Has $8.34 Million Stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,395 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $8,339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of BRO. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its stake in Brown & Brown by 122.7% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Brown & Brown stock opened at $119.80 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $111.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.58. The stock has a market cap of $34.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 12-month low of $80.33 and a 12-month high of $121.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last posted its quarterly 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 17.81% and a net margin of 20.68%. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on BRO. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Brown & Brown from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays increased their price objective on Brown & Brown from $108.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Brown & Brown in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $134.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brown & Brown has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.