Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $124.56 and last traded at $123.70, with a volume of 115668 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $122.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BRO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated 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 raised their target price 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 lifted their price target on Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.67.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $35.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $113.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.10. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 20.68% and a return on equity of 17.81%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brown & Brown

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BRO. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 534.1% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 122.7% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.