Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Sees Large Volume Increase Following Analyst Upgrade

Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) shares saw strong trading volume on Thursday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on the stock from $100.00 to $102.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an underperform rating on the stock. 2,476,189 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 56% from the previous session's volume of 1,586,285 shares.The stock last traded at $106.40 and had previously closed at $104.48.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Truist Financial cut their target price on Brown & Brown from $138.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group upped their target price on Brown & Brown from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays upped their target price on Brown & Brown from $119.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Brown & Brown from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $128.00 target price on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $118.85.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bares Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Brown & Brown during the first quarter worth $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 534.1% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 279 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 581.8% during the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optimum Investment Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the first quarter worth $31,000. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brown & Brown Stock Down 0.2%

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $112.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $30.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.82, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.84.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 17.81% and a net margin of 20.68%. Brown & Brown's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Brown & Brown's payout ratio is presently 16.71%.

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.