Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Stock Gets Price Target Trim from Citigroup

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) had its target price lowered by Citigroup from $79.00 to $76.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on BRO. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Brown & Brown from $69.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Brown & Brown from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Brown & Brown from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.53.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BRO opened at $69.73 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $23.13 billion, a PE ratio of 15.21, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $67.03 and a 200 day moving average of $66.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 1.96. Brown & Brown has a one year low of $53.81 and a one year high of $82.57.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 13.29% and a net margin of 17.63%. The business’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Brown & Brown will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 4th. This is a positive change from Brown & Brown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.1650. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Brown & Brown’s payout ratio is currently 20.89%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brown & Brown

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,418,571,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the 2nd quarter worth $266,941,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the 2nd quarter worth $228,051,000. Madison Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the 2nd quarter worth $138,630,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the 2nd quarter worth $88,589,000. 71.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Brown & Brown

Brown & Brown, Inc is an insurance brokerage and risk management company headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida. The company helps businesses, public entities, individuals and other organizations identify, manage and transfer risk by arranging insurance coverage and providing related advisory services.

Its operations include retail insurance brokerage, national programs, wholesale brokerage and services. Brown & Brown offers property and casualty insurance, employee benefits, personal insurance, surety and other specialized coverage.