Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $106.50.

Several analysts recently issued reports on BRO shares. Truist Financial increased their price target on Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded Brown & Brown from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Argus initiated coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th.

Brown & Brown Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Brown & Brown stock opened at $105.84 on Friday. Brown & Brown has a 1 year low of $68.42 and a 1 year high of $107.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $104.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.60. The company has a market capitalization of $30.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.83.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 21.95% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. Brown & Brown’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown will post 3.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 6th. This is an increase from Brown & Brown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brown & Brown

In other Brown & Brown news, CFO R. Andrew Watts sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.32, for a total value of $250,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 88,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,872,802.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Brown & Brown news, Chairman Hyatt J. Brown sold 134,640 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.51, for a total transaction of $14,071,226.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO R. Andrew Watts sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.32, for a total transaction of $250,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 88,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,872,802.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 16.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brookstone Capital Management raised its stake in Brown & Brown by 44.8% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 10,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $877,000 after buying an additional 3,096 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $892,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Vicus Capital bought a new position in Brown & Brown during the first quarter worth $207,000. Compass Ion Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 13.4% in the first quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 11,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 1,375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp raised its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 128.5% in the first quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 1,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the period. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Brown & Brown

Brown & Brown, Inc markets and sells insurance products and services in the United States, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Retail, National Programs, Wholesale Brokerage, and Services. The Retail segment provides property and casualty, employee benefits insurance products, personal insurance products, specialties insurance products, risk management strategies, loss control survey and analysis, consultancy, and claims processing services.