Morgan Stanley Cuts Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Price Target to $70.00

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) had its target price reduced by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $76.00 to $70.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 4.85% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Brown & Brown in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $91.00 price objective for the company. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $82.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $81.00 price objective (down from $90.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Mizuho raised Brown & Brown from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $84.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Argus upgraded Brown & Brown to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.80.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Shares of BRO stock traded up $0.81 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $66.76. The company had a trading volume of 374,915 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,454,911. Brown & Brown has a 12-month low of $63.29 and a 12-month high of $121.70. The company has a market capitalization of $22.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.87, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $69.42 and a 200-day moving average of $78.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 17.84% and a return on equity of 12.93%. Brown & Brown’s revenue was up 35.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brown & Brown

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BRO. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. 71.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.