Patton Fund Management Inc. Reduces Position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Patton Fund Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 13.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,057 shares during the period. Patton Fund Management Inc.’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $4,119,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BRO. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 298.5% during the 3rd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Brown & Brown by 130.7% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Shares of BRO opened at $104.98 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.02 billion, a PE ratio of 28.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $105.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.08. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.79 and a twelve month high of $114.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last released 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 return on equity of 17.12% and a net margin of 22.65%. Research analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given 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 currently 16.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com cut Brown & Brown from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 2nd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $108.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.08.

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.