Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Price Target Cut to $55.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley lowered Brown & Brown’s price target to $55 from $60 and maintained an “underweight” rating, implying 9.70% downside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly neutral: 14 analysts rate the stock “Hold,” four rate it “Buy,” and one rates it “Sell,” with a consensus price target of $76.47.
• Brown & Brown shares traded at $60.91, below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages. The company recently narrowly missed quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, despite revenue rising 30.4% year over year.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $60.00 to $55.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "underweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target indicates a potential downside of 9.70% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup lowered Brown & Brown from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $79.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Brown & Brown from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Brown & Brown from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on Brown & Brown from $86.00 to $83.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $76.47.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Shares of BRO traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $60.91. 373,088 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,961,423. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 2.11. The stock's fifty day moving average is $68.54 and its 200 day moving average is $65.00. Brown & Brown has a 1-year low of $53.81 and a 1-year high of $96.55. The stock has a market cap of $20.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.60.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 17.75%.Brown & Brown's revenue was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brown & Brown

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BRO. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,418,571,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Brown & Brown in the second quarter valued at approximately $266,941,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $228,051,000. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 132.8% in the 4th quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 4,538,584 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $361,725,000 after buying an additional 2,589,048 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Madison Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the second quarter valued at $138,630,000. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Brown & Brown

Brown & Brown, Inc is an independent insurance brokerage, risk management and employee benefits firm headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida. The company helps businesses, public entities and individuals identify, manage and transfer risk through insurance placement, risk consulting and related services.

Its offerings include property and casualty insurance, employee benefits, personal insurance, surety products, risk management services and specialized insurance programs. Brown & Brown also operates wholesale brokerage businesses that provide coverage solutions and access to insurance markets for retail agents and brokers, including products designed for specialty and hard-to-place risks.

Founded in 1939 by J.

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