Mizuho Securities USA LLC Acquires 7,142 Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 46.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 22,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,142 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $2,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Brown & Brown by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,901,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,316,259,000 after acquiring an additional 94,121 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,466,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $255,537,000 after purchasing an additional 371,980 shares in the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter valued at about $198,031,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in Brown & Brown by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,768,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $180,378,000 after buying an additional 50,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Brown & Brown by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,356,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $138,394,000 after buying an additional 40,881 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of Brown & Brown stock opened at $121.02 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $111.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.82. 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 firm has a market cap of $34.60 billion, a PE ratio of 34.98, a P/E/G 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 $121.30.

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

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on BRO. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Brown & Brown in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $134.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America upped 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, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Brown & Brown has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $113.17.

Brown & Brown Company 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.