Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock traded as low as $55.26 and last traded at $55.6290, with a volume of 138016 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $56.45.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BRO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their target price on Brown & Brown from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Argus raised shares of Brown & Brown to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $82.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.73.

Brown & Brown Trading Down 1.6%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $18.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $66.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.22.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 17.94%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.29 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. Brown & Brown’s payout ratio is 21.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brown & Brown

In other news, Director H Palmer Proctor, Jr. purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $57.10 per share, for a total transaction of $114,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 47,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,719,159.10. The trade was a 4.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 13.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brown & Brown

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Brown & Brown during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in Brown & Brown by 423.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new position in Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Brown & Brown during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC bought a new position in Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brown & Brown Company Profile

Brown & Brown, Inc (NYSE: BRO) is a professional insurance brokerage and risk advisory firm that provides a broad range of property and casualty, employee benefits, personal risk, and specialty insurance products. The company works with commercial, public sector and individual clients to design and place insurance programs, manage claims and loss control, and deliver risk management consulting. Its services also include wholesale brokerage, program administration and other specialty distribution solutions that connect carriers and intermediaries to niche markets.

Brown & Brown operates through a decentralized model of operating units and subsidiaries, enabling local client service with the scale to access national and specialty markets.