Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Stock Price

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) had its target price boosted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $97.00 to $102.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an underperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on BRO. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $128.00 target price on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $115.25.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BRO traded up $1.20 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $117.84. The stock had a trading volume of 1,340,124 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,767,026. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $115.90 and a 200-day moving average of $109.38. The firm has a market cap of $33.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.02, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Brown & Brown has a fifty-two week low of $80.33 and a fifty-two week high of $125.68.

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

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Brown & Brown’s payout ratio is 17.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brown & Brown

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 534.1% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its stake in Brown & Brown by 122.7% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in Brown & Brown by 581.8% during the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.