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

Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $105.2308.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BRO shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Brown & Brown from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 20th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $92.00 to $79.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays lowered their price target on Brown & Brown from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Thursday, July 31st.

Brown & Brown Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:BRO opened at $78.51 on Wednesday. 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.23. Brown & Brown has a 1 year low of $76.17 and a 1 year 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.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 13.64% and a net margin of 18.23%.Brown & Brown’s quarterly revenue was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Brown & Brown will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Brown & Brown

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bares Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Brown & Brown during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 423.1% during 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 in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its stake in 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 worth $30,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Brown & Brown in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Optimum Investment Advisors purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown during the first quarter worth $31,000. 71.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.