Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Given New $122.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) had its price target lifted by BMO Capital Markets from $116.00 to $122.00 in a research note released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Brown & Brown from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Brown & Brown from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Brown & Brown from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $126.00 to $119.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $128.00 target price on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $118.69.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Brown & Brown stock opened at $106.88 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $112.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $111.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $30.63 billion, a PE ratio of 30.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.84. Brown & Brown has a twelve month low of $88.31 and a twelve month high of $125.68.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.01). Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 17.81% and a net margin of 20.68%. The company had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Brown & Brown will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bares Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 534.1% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 581.8% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Finally, Optimum Investment Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

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.