Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO – Get Rating) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on BRO. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Brown & Brown from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 18th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Brown & Brown from $69.00 to $68.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 10th. Citigroup upgraded Brown & Brown from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 18th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Brown & Brown in a research note on Thursday, January 19th. They issued an outperform rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Brown & Brown from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $66.64.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Shares of Brown & Brown stock opened at $66.36 on Thursday. Brown & Brown has a one year low of $52.82 and a one year high of $68.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.42 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 2.49.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 17th. Investors of record on Monday, May 8th were paid a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 5th. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. Brown & Brown’s payout ratio is 19.01%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brown & Brown

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nomura Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Brown & Brown by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 18,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,105,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Brown & Brown by 32.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 457,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,656,000 after acquiring an additional 112,868 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its holdings in Brown & Brown by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 99,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,674,000 after acquiring an additional 12,575 shares during the period. Tobam bought a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter valued at $66,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC raised its holdings in Brown & Brown by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 7,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $426,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.52% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Company Profile

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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.