Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Given New $100.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has lowered its price target for Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) from $105.00 to $100.00, while maintaining an "equal weight" rating, suggesting a potential upside of 4.76% from the current price.
• Research analysts have mixed views on Brown & Brown, with eight ratings as "Buy," seven as "Hold," and one as "Sell," leading to an average target price of $111.69.
• Brown & Brown reported a 9.1% year-on-year revenue increase, with quarterly earnings exceeding estimates, and the company's net margin stands at 19.89%.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $100.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price indicates a potential upside of 4.76% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on BRO. Citigroup started coverage on Brown & Brown in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $112.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Brown & Brown from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 20th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $120.00 target price (down from $125.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $104.00 to $87.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America raised Brown & Brown from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $126.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $111.69.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Shares of BRO traded up $1.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $95.46. The stock had a trading volume of 347,138 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,546,663. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.45, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 6.72 and a current ratio of 6.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $94.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.49. Brown & Brown has a fifty-two week low of $89.99 and a fifty-two week high of $125.68.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 15.10%. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada acquired 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $91.44 per share, with a total value of $91,440.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $457,200. This represents a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul J. Krump acquired 2,678 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $93.31 per share, for a total transaction of $249,884.18. Following the acquisition, the director owned 5,353 shares of the company's stock, valued at $499,488.43. This represents a 100.11% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 15.59% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Brown & Brown

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRO. Bares Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Optimum Investment Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. SouthState Corp raised its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 188.6% in the first quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 254 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 298.5% in the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 267 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

About Brown & Brown

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.

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