Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $119.24 and last traded at $118.59, with a volume of 96888 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $118.54.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BRO shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $134.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Brown & Brown from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.17.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $107.20 and a 200-day moving average of $106.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $34.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86.

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

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BRO. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in Brown & Brown by 324.3% during the fourth quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 19,285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,967,000 after buying an additional 14,740 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 161,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,104,000 after acquiring an additional 6,805 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,315,654 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $136,302,000 after acquiring an additional 17,934 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the third quarter valued at $9,832,000. Finally, EULAV Asset Management increased its position in Brown & Brown by 144.8% in the fourth quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 430,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,960,000 after purchasing an additional 254,900 shares during the last quarter. 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.