Brown & Brown, Inc. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.15 (NYSE:BRO)

Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 23rd, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be given a dividend of 0.15 per share by the financial services provider on Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th.

Brown & Brown has a dividend payout ratio of 12.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Brown & Brown to earn $4.54 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 11.5%.

Brown & Brown Trading Up 0.6%

BRO traded up $0.62 during trading on Friday, reaching $103.40. 1,868,344 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,393,639. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $108.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $111.46. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Brown & Brown has a one year low of $97.61 and a one year high of $125.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.64 billion, a PE ratio of 28.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.82.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.01). Brown & Brown had a net margin of 20.84% and a return on equity of 17.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Brown & Brown will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $121.00 to $111.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Brown & Brown from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $126.00 to $119.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Edward Jones began coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $118.23.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brown & Brown

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Brown & Brown stock. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,149 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $1,387,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Brown & Brown

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.