Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Given New $74.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) had its price target lifted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $73.00 to $74.00 in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on BRO. Bank of America reduced their target price on Brown & Brown from $94.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Argus raised Brown & Brown to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Mizuho raised Brown & Brown from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $84.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Brown & Brown from $82.00 to $78.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Brown & Brown from $82.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.87.

Brown & Brown Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of BRO stock opened at $66.33 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. Brown & Brown has a 52-week low of $63.29 and a 52-week high of $121.70. The company has a market capitalization of $22.58 billion, a PE ratio of 20.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s fifty day moving average is $69.00 and its 200 day moving average is $78.23.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 17.84%.The company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 35.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 4th were paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 4th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.63%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 423.1% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the second quarter worth about $30,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Brown & Brown Company Profile

Brown & Brown, Inc (NYSE: BRO) is a professional insurance brokerage and risk advisory firm that provides a broad range of property and casualty, employee benefits, personal risk, and specialty insurance products. The company works with commercial, public sector and individual clients to design and place insurance programs, manage claims and loss control, and deliver risk management consulting. Its services also include wholesale brokerage, program administration and other specialty distribution solutions that connect carriers and intermediaries to niche markets.

Brown & Brown operates through a decentralized model of operating units and subsidiaries, enabling local client service with the scale to access national and specialty markets.