Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Sets New 1-Year High - What's Next?

Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $124.56 and last traded at $123.70, with a volume of 115668 shares. The stock had previously closed at $122.93.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BRO shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $128.00 target price on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Brown & Brown currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.67.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $114.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market cap of $33.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.10. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 17.81% and a net margin of 20.68%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BRO. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter worth approximately $313,412,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 626.6% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,350,039 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $239,751,000 after purchasing an additional 2,026,589 shares during the period. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter worth approximately $198,031,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,940,139 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,054,493,000 after acquiring an additional 1,335,964 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 11,337.8% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,108,894 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,109,000 after acquiring an additional 1,099,199 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.