Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Stock Has Average Price Target of $75.82

Key Points

• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating on Brown & Brown, with 13 holds, six buys, one strong buy and one sell among 21 firms. The average 12-month price target is $75.82.
• Brown & Brown’s latest quarter fell slightly short of estimates: EPS was $1.07 versus $1.08 expected, and revenue was $1.70 billion versus $1.76 billion expected. Revenue nevertheless increased 7.4% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.165 to $0.18 per share, equivalent to an annualized $0.72 and a 1.0% yield.

Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the twenty-one research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have given a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $75.82.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on BRO shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Brown & Brown from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $77.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Brown & Brown from $73.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st.

Institutional Trading of Brown & Brown

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 7,129.0% in the 3rd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 95,062 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,789,000 after purchasing an additional 93,747 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the third quarter worth approximately $2,547,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 1,424.5% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 40,583 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,734,000 after purchasing an additional 37,921 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 17.7% during the first quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 1,154,219 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $75,267,000 after purchasing an additional 173,265 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Brown & Brown by 775.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 67,997 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,554,000 after purchasing an additional 60,234 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Brown & Brown Stock Up 1.8%

BRO stock traded up $1.30 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $71.85. 1,798,320 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,771,330. The company has a market cap of $23.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 1.96. Brown & Brown has a 1-year low of $53.81 and a 1-year high of $82.57. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $66.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.51.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.01). Brown & Brown had a net margin of 17.63% and a return on equity of 13.29%. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.76 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Brown & Brown will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 4th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from Brown & Brown's previous quarterly dividend of $0.1650. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio is 22.78%.

About Brown & Brown

Brown & Brown, Inc. is an insurance brokerage and risk management company that helps businesses, public entities and individuals assess and manage risk. Its services include arranging property and casualty insurance, employee benefits and personal insurance, as well as providing risk management and related services. The company serves clients through retail insurance operations, national insurance programs, wholesale brokerage and insurance-related services. It operates primarily in the United States and also serves clients in international markets.

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