Analysts Set Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Target Price at $76.80

Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nineteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fourteen have assigned a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $76.80.

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $60.00 price target (up from $56.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Citizens Jmp upped their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Friday, June 26th.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Shares of Brown & Brown stock opened at $71.42 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.90 billion, a PE ratio of 22.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Brown & Brown has a 12 month low of $53.81 and a 12 month high of $96.55. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $70.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.93.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 17.75%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Brown & Brown will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 12th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.82%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BRO. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Brown & Brown by 38.3% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 33,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,132,000 after acquiring an additional 9,264 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in Brown & Brown by 5.2% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 11,149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,387,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 1,824.7% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 53,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,888,000 after purchasing an additional 50,344 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 27.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 60.9% in the second quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Company Profile

Brown & Brown, Inc (NYSE: BRO) is a professional insurance brokerage and risk advisory firm that provides a broad range of property and casualty, employee benefits, personal risk, and specialty insurance products. The company works with commercial, public sector and individual clients to design and place insurance programs, manage claims and loss control, and deliver risk management consulting. Its services also include wholesale brokerage, program administration and other specialty distribution solutions that connect carriers and intermediaries to niche markets.

Brown & Brown operates through a decentralized model of operating units and subsidiaries, enabling local client service with the scale to access national and specialty markets.