Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Friday morning.

Several other analysts have also commented on BRO. UBS Group increased their price objective on Brown & Brown from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays started coverage on Brown & Brown in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $108.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Brown & Brown from $98.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. 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. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brown & Brown presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.67.

Brown & Brown Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE BRO opened at $103.98 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $29.66 billion, a PE ratio of 31.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.83. Brown & Brown has a 52 week low of $67.30 and a 52 week high of $107.67. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $104.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.29.

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This is an increase from Brown & Brown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 6th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is 18.46%.

Insider Transactions at Brown & Brown

In related news, Chairman Hyatt J. Brown sold 134,640 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.51, for a total transaction of $14,071,226.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through 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 value of $250,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,872,802.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 17.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Brown & Brown

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 267,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,390,000 after acquiring an additional 6,613 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Brown & Brown by 12.7% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 276,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,169,000 after purchasing an additional 31,071 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,512,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 12.4% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 251,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,855,000 after buying an additional 27,879 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norden Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 2,650.9% during the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 99,856 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,741,000 after buying an additional 96,226 shares during the period. 71.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.