Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $117.50.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Brown & Brown from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BRO. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in Brown & Brown by 324.3% during the 4th quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 19,285 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,967,000 after purchasing an additional 14,740 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 395.6% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 34,197 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,489,000 after buying an additional 27,297 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in Brown & Brown by 56.8% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 189,798 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $19,365,000 after acquiring an additional 68,745 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Brown & Brown by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,356,535 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $138,394,000 after acquiring an additional 40,881 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 304,405 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,055,000 after acquiring an additional 50,510 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Brown & Brown Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE:BRO traded down $1.63 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $117.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,795,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,434,890. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $117.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $110.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 1.79. The company has a market capitalization of $33.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.75. Brown & Brown has a 12 month low of $80.87 and a 12 month high of $125.68.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.10. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 17.81% and a net margin of 20.68%. Equities analysts predict that Brown & Brown will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. Brown & Brown's payout ratio is 17.34%.

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.