Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $114.45 and last traded at $114.08, with a volume of 224243 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $112.60.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $134.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.17.

Brown & Brown Stock Up 1.6 %

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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $105.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.62. The company has a market capitalization of $32.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86.

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

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. Brown & Brown’s payout ratio is presently 17.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brown & Brown

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Studio Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 1.5% in the third quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 6,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $675,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Brown & Brown by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 4,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Brown & Brown by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 2,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Brown & Brown by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 3,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 0.5% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 22,929 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,375,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.