Brown & Brown’s (BRO) Equal Weight Rating Reiterated at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley reaffirmed their equal weight rating on shares of Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $128.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

BRO has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America increased 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.67.

Brown & Brown Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:BRO opened at $121.44 on Tuesday. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.82. Brown & Brown has a 1 year low of $80.33 and a 1 year high of $121.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.72 billion, a PE ratio of 35.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Brown & Brown will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brown & Brown

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BRO. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 4,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 2,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 3,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $476,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 4.5% during the third quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 2,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.