Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $112.08.

BRO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $98.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Argus began coverage on Brown & Brown in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $134.00 price objective on the stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brown & Brown

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 24.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,489,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $311,979,000 after buying an additional 687,783 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 258.0% during the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 646,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,985,000 after buying an additional 465,988 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its position in Brown & Brown by 392.3% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 472,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,287,000 after buying an additional 376,892 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,466,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $255,537,000 after acquiring an additional 371,980 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 771.5% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 415,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,008,000 after acquiring an additional 367,500 shares during the period. 71.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Shares of Brown & Brown stock opened at $103.70 on Thursday. Brown & Brown has a 52 week low of $73.23 and a 52 week high of $114.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market cap of $29.65 billion, a PE ratio of 28.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $106.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $103.04.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.16 billion. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 22.65% and a return on equity of 17.12%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. This is a positive change from Brown & Brown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.35%.

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.