Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Earns Equal Weight Rating from Analysts at Barclays

Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued an equal weight rating and a $108.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Brown & Brown from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Brown & Brown from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Brown & Brown from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $100.00.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Brown & Brown stock opened at $103.94 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Brown & Brown has a 12 month low of $66.73 and a 12 month high of $106.02. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $98.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.53. The company has a market cap of $29.65 billion, a PE ratio of 31.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.83.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 21.95% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. Research analysts expect that Brown & Brown will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 7th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.00%.

Insider Activity at Brown & Brown

In related news, Chairman Hyatt J. Brown sold 134,640 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.51, for a total value of $14,071,226.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Chairman Hyatt J. Brown sold 134,640 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.51, for a total value of $14,071,226.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO R. Andrew Watts sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.32, for a total value of $250,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 88,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,872,802.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter valued at $217,663,000. Congress Asset Management Co. MA acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter valued at $82,445,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in Brown & Brown by 105.1% in the second quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,068,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $184,930,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059,711 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Brown & Brown by 76.2% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,000,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $142,236,000 after purchasing an additional 865,082 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 24.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,489,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $311,979,000 after purchasing an additional 687,783 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Company Profile

Brown & Brown, Inc markets and sells insurance products and services in the United States, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Retail, National Programs, Wholesale Brokerage, and Services. The Retail segment provides property and casualty, employee benefits insurance products, personal insurance products, specialties insurance products, risk management strategies, loss control survey and analysis, consultancy, and claims processing services.