Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the nineteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have assigned a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $76.4667.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho raised their price objective on Brown & Brown from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Brown & Brown from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Brown & Brown from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th.

Brown & Brown Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE:BRO opened at $71.68 on Friday. Brown & Brown has a 52 week low of $53.81 and a 52 week high of $98.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $66.28 and a 200 day moving average of $65.86. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.61, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be paid a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.82%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BRO. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the second quarter worth $30,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Brown & Brown in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.