Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) 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 trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $112.60.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $113.17.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $105.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.62. 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 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 data on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share 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, analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio is 17.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,940,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,054,493,000 after acquiring an additional 1,335,964 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Brown & Brown by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,901,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,316,259,000 after purchasing an additional 94,121 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Brown & Brown by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,099,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $620,737,000 after purchasing an additional 118,569 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,195,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $428,043,000 after purchasing an additional 566,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,803,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $388,045,000 after buying an additional 388,411 shares during the period. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.