Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume After Analyst Upgrade

Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $116.00 to $122.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock. 2,476,189 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 56% from the previous session’s volume of 1,586,285 shares.The stock last traded at $106.40 and had previously closed at $104.48.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on BRO. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Brown & Brown from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $126.00 to $119.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $119.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $118.69.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC lifted its position in Brown & Brown by 3.4% during the first quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Brown & Brown by 26.8% during the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in Brown & Brown by 2.3% during the first quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,312 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $536,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC lifted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 3.3% during the first quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 4.2% during the first quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 2,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brown & Brown Trading Up 2.3%

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $112.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $111.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.89, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.84.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 20.68% and a return on equity of 17.81%. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.71%.

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.