Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $76.00

Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-one brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have issued a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $76.00.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BRO. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $69.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Brown & Brown from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 price objective (up from $65.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Monday, October 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on Brown & Brown from $83.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BRO opened at $72.97 on Wednesday. Brown & Brown has a fifty-two week low of $53.81 and a fifty-two week high of $89.26. The company has a market cap of $24.42 billion, a PE ratio of 23.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 2.11. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.13.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Brown & Brown will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 4th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This is a boost from Brown & Brown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.1650. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 4th. Brown & Brown’s payout ratio is currently 20.82%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brown & Brown

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BRO. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown in the second quarter valued at $35,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 853.3% in the 3rd quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brown & Brown Company Profile

Brown & Brown, Inc is an insurance brokerage and risk management company headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida. The company helps businesses, public entities, individuals and other organizations identify, manage and transfer risk by arranging insurance coverage and providing related advisory services.

Its operations include retail insurance brokerage, national programs, wholesale brokerage and services. Brown & Brown offers property and casualty insurance, employee benefits, personal insurance, surety and other specialized coverage.