Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $124.56 and last traded at $123.70, with a volume of 115668 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $122.93.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BRO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America upped their price target on Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $128.00 target price on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.67.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $35.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $113.33 and a 200 day moving average of $108.31. 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 (NYSE:BRO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brown & Brown

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter worth $313,412,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 626.6% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,350,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $239,751,000 after buying an additional 2,026,589 shares in the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Brown & Brown during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $198,031,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Brown & Brown by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,940,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,054,493,000 after buying an additional 1,335,964 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Brown & Brown by 11,337.8% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,108,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,109,000 after acquiring an additional 1,099,199 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.