Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from Barclays

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) had its price objective trimmed by Barclays from $76.00 to $71.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

BRO has been the topic of several other research reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $73.00 target price (up from $65.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Brown & Brown from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Oppenheimer began coverage on Brown & Brown in a report on Wednesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Brown & Brown from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $75.62.

Brown & Brown Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE:BRO opened at $62.88 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $21.04 billion, a PE ratio of 19.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $67.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.89. Brown & Brown has a 12-month low of $53.81 and a 12-month high of $96.13. 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 (NYSE:BRO) last issued 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 company had revenue of $1.65 billion for 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 quarter last year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown will post 4.50 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.1650 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Brown & Brown’s payout ratio is 20.82%.

Institutional Trading of Brown & Brown

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,418,571,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the second quarter worth approximately $266,941,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the second quarter worth approximately $228,051,000. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 132.8% during the fourth quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 4,538,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $361,725,000 after purchasing an additional 2,589,048 shares during the period. Finally, Madison Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Brown & Brown in the 2nd quarter valued at $138,630,000. 71.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Company Profile

Brown & Brown, Inc is an independent insurance brokerage, risk management and employee benefits firm headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida. The company helps businesses, public entities and individuals identify, manage and transfer risk through insurance placement, risk consulting and related services.

Its offerings include property and casualty insurance, employee benefits, personal insurance, surety products, risk management services and specialized insurance programs. Brown & Brown also operates wholesale brokerage businesses that provide coverage solutions and access to insurance markets for retail agents and brokers, including products designed for specialty and hard-to-place risks.

Founded in 1939 by J.