Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Raised to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Brown & Brown has been upgraded from a "sell" to a "hold" rating by analysts at Wall Street Zen, indicating a more positive outlook for the stock.
• Several research firms have varying opinions on Brown & Brown, with Wells Fargo downgrading the stock to "equal weight" and Bank of America increasing its rating to "buy" along with raising the price target.
• The company reported strong quarterly earnings, exceeding analyst expectations with a net margin of 19.89% and revenue growth of 9.1% compared to the previous year.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

BRO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Brown & Brown from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $104.00 to $101.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Argus reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Truist Financial set a $120.00 price target on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $104.00 to $87.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $112.64.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Shares of Brown & Brown stock traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $92.18. 123,993 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,562,859. Brown & Brown has a 12 month low of $89.99 and a 12 month high of $125.68. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 6.72 and a current ratio of 6.72. The company has a market capitalization of $30.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.80.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 15.10%. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Brown & Brown's payout ratio is 17.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brown & Brown

In related news, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada bought 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $91.44 per share, for a total transaction of $91,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $457,200. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul J. Krump bought 2,678 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $93.31 per share, with a total value of $249,884.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,353 shares of the company's stock, valued at $499,488.43. This represents a 100.11% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 15.59% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Brown & Brown in the first quarter worth $1,929,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 104.4% during the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 419 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 7.1% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 6,807 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $847,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 2.5% during the first quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 764,709 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $95,130,000 after acquiring an additional 18,677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 172.5% during the first quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 1,314,434 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $163,516,000 after acquiring an additional 832,100 shares during the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.