Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the twelve brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $112.67.

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Brown & Brown from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $128.00 target price on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased 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.

Brown & Brown Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:BRO opened at $124.53 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $35.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.99, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86. Brown & Brown has a 12-month low of $80.33 and a 12-month high of $124.97. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $113.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.10. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 20.68% and a return on equity of 17.81%. Sell-side analysts expect that Brown & Brown will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Brown & Brown’s payout ratio is currently 17.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brown & Brown

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter worth approximately $313,412,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 626.6% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,350,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $239,751,000 after buying an additional 2,026,589 shares during the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter worth $198,031,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Brown & Brown by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,940,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,054,493,000 after acquiring an additional 1,335,964 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Brown & Brown by 11,337.8% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,108,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,109,000 after acquiring an additional 1,099,199 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

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.