Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Shares Gap Down - What's Next?

Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $105.49, but opened at $103.30. Brown & Brown shares last traded at $103.33, with a volume of 6,373,681 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on BRO. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $119.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $138.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Brown & Brown from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $126.00 to $119.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $118.85.

Brown & Brown Trading Down 0.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The stock's 50-day moving average is $112.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.06. The stock has a market cap of $30.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brown & Brown

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. eCIO Inc. bought a new position in Brown & Brown during the first quarter valued at $184,000. Cim LLC lifted its position in Brown & Brown by 76.6% during the first quarter. Cim LLC now owns 25,495 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,172,000 after purchasing an additional 11,059 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in Brown & Brown by 5.2% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 11,149 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,387,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its position in Brown & Brown by 37.8% during the first quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 4,096 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $510,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Brown & Brown by 1.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,585,840 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $197,278,000 after purchasing an additional 19,576 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

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.