Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nineteen research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $78.4375.

Several research firms recently weighed in on BRO. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Brown & Brown from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Brown & Brown from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings cut Brown & Brown from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group cut their price objective on Brown & Brown from $81.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th.

Brown & Brown Stock Up 2.7%

Brown & Brown stock opened at $62.03 on Thursday. Brown & Brown has a one year low of $53.81 and a one year high of $111.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.00 and a 200 day moving average of $68.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market cap of $21.03 billion, a PE ratio of 19.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.63.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.03. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 17.94% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.29 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Brown & Brown will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brown & Brown

In other Brown & Brown news, Director H Palmer Proctor, Jr. bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $57.10 per share, with a total value of $114,200.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 47,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,719,159.10. This trade represents a 4.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 13.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brown & Brown

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the second quarter worth about $30,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. 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.