Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $107.42.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BRO shares. Argus assumed coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Brown & Brown from $98.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Brown & Brown from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Brown & Brown from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Brown & Brown from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BRO opened at $112.05 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $106.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.04 billion, a PE ratio of 30.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.82. Brown & Brown has a twelve month low of $69.13 and a twelve month high of $114.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 17.12% and a net margin of 22.65%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Brown & Brown will post 3.74 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is a boost from Brown & Brown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 6th. Brown & Brown’s payout ratio is presently 16.35%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Hyatt J. Brown sold 134,640 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.51, for a total transaction of $14,071,226.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 17.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brown & Brown

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Studio Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 1.5% during the third quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 6,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $675,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in Brown & Brown by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 20,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,819,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. increased its stake in Brown & Brown by 4.3% in the third quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 2,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 0.4% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 29,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,097,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 0.5% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 22,929 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,375,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

About Brown & Brown

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.