Brokerages Set Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Target Price at $105.23

Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the sixteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $105.2308.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on Brown & Brown from $120.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $92.00 to $79.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $122.00 to $106.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Brown & Brown from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brown & Brown

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BRO. Bares Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in Brown & Brown by 423.1% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 298.5% in the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Optimum Investment Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the first quarter worth about $31,000. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

NYSE:BRO opened at $78.51 on Wednesday. Brown & Brown has a 12 month low of $76.17 and a 12 month high of $125.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 6.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.81 billion, a PE ratio of 23.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $90.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.98.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.15. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 13.64% and a net margin of 18.23%.The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. Brown & Brown’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 5th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Brown & Brown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.76%.

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.