Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Jefferies Financial Group Analyst Says

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) had its price objective hoisted by Jefferies Financial Group from $105.00 to $109.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $128.00 price objective on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Brown & Brown from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Brown & Brown from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $115.83.

Brown & Brown Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:BRO opened at $118.88 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $116.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.99 billion, a PE ratio of 34.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.75. Brown & Brown has a 12 month low of $80.33 and a 12 month high of $125.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.10. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 17.81% and a net margin of 20.68%. Research analysts predict that Brown & Brown will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brown & Brown

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,940,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,054,493,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335,964 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Brown & Brown by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,901,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,316,259,000 after buying an additional 94,121 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Brown & Brown by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,099,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $620,737,000 after buying an additional 118,569 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Brown & Brown by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,195,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $428,043,000 after buying an additional 566,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,803,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $388,045,000 after acquiring an additional 388,411 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Company Profile

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.