Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Given New $60.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) had its price target reduced by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $65.00 to $60.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 4.50% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on BRO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Brown & Brown from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $81.00 price objective (down from $90.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Citigroup started coverage on Brown & Brown in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “market outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.44.

Brown & Brown Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of Brown & Brown stock opened at $57.42 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.46, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.66. Brown & Brown has a 12-month low of $53.81 and a 12-month high of $113.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.03. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 17.94%.The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Brown & Brown will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Brown & Brown news, Director H Palmer Proctor, Jr. bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $57.10 per share, with a total value of $114,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 47,621 shares in the company, valued at $2,719,159.10. The trade was a 4.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 13.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Brown & Brown

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRO. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Brown & Brown during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 423.1% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

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.